^^^SMWMfe 


'<^S)C/IL  StWV 


THE  NEW  TESTAMENT 
A  NEW  TRANSLATION 


THE 

NEW   TESTAMENT 

A  NEW  TRANSLATIQ^^VTC^ 

mPF: 

BY    THE    REVEREND    PROFESSOR  ^ 

JAMES  MOFFATT,  D.D.,  D.Litt. 


NEW  EDITION,  REVISED 


HODDER  AND  STOUGHTON 

NEW  YORK 

GEORGE  H.  DORAN  COMPANY 


PRINTED   IN   THE    UNITED    STATES    OF    AMERICA 


PREFACE 

Ix  his  essay  on  Protestantism,  de  Quincey  has  a  characteris- 
tic paragraph  upon  the  popular  delusion  that  "every  idea  and 
word  which  exists,  or  has  existed,  for  any  nation,  ancient  or 
modern,  must  have  a  direct  interchangeable  equivalent  in  all 
other  languages."  No  one  who  attempts  to  translate  any  part 
of  the  New  Testament  is  likely  to  remain  very  long  under  such 
a  delusion.  Thus  there  is  no  exact  English  equivalent  for 
terms  like  \6yos  and  fj.vaT7jpi.ov  and  8iKato<r6pr].  The  first  of  these 
I  have  simply  transliterated  once  or  twice;  'Logos'  is  at  any 
rate  less  misleading  than  'Word'  would  be  to  a  modern  reader. 
Even  when  an  equivalent  can  be  got  for  some  New  Testament 
term  like  edvr}  or  "AiS-ns,  it  cannot  be  used  invariably.  I  have 
kept  "Gentiles"  for  ^6vt]  in  cases  where  the  contrast  between 
Judaism  and  the  outer  world  is  prominent;  if  Kipling's  "Reces- 
sional" was  intelligible  to  modern  readers,  "Gentiles"  here 
should  not  cause  them  undue  difficulty.  But  now  and  then 
the  Greek  term  carries  a  sense  which  can  only  be  represented 
by  our  "pagans"  or  "heathen,"  and  occasionally  it  is  no  more 
than  "nations."  This  will  serve  as  an  illustration  of  the  diffi- 
culties which  confront  a  translator.  But  once  the  translation 
of  the  New  Testament  is  freed  from  the  influence  of  the  theory 
of  verbal  inspiration,  these  difficulties  cease  to  be  so  formid- 
able. I  have  tried  not  to  sacrifice  the  spirit  to  the  letter.  It 
is  true,  as  de  Quincey  observes  in  the  same  essay,  that  "the 
great  ideas  of  the  Bible  protect  themselves.  The  heavenly 
truths,  by  their  own  imperishableness,  defeat  the  mortality 
of  languages  with  which  for  a  moment  they  are  associated." 
Still,  this  is  a  victory  in  which  even  the  camp-followers  or 
translators  have  a  modest  share.  They  can  or  they  should 
further  this  linguistic  triumph.  Hellenistic  Greek  has  its  own 
defects,  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  classical  scholar,  but  it 
is  an  eminently  translatable  language,  and  the  evidence  of 
papyrology  shows  it  was  more  flexible  than  once  was  imagined. 
My  intention,  therefore,  has  been  to  produce  a  version  which 
will  to  some  degree  represent  the  gains  of  recent  lexical  re- 
search and  also  prove  readable.  I  have  attempted  to  translate 
the  New  Testament  exactly  as  one  would  render  any  piece  of 
contemporary  Hellenistic  prose;   in  this  way,  students  of  the 


vi  PREFACE 

original  text  may  perhaps  be  benefited.  But  I  hope  also  that 
the  translation  may  fall  into  the  hands  of  some  who  know 
how  to  freshen  their  religious  interest  in  the  meaning  of  the 
New  Testament  by  reading  it  occasionally  in  some  unauthor- 
ized English  or  foreign  version,  as  well  as  into  the  hands  of 
others  who  for  various  reasons  neglect  the  Bible  even  as  an 
English  classic.  This  is  a  hope  which,  no  doubt,  is  accom- 
panied with  some  risks  and  fears.  Every  translation  has  to 
face  a  double  ordeal.  Some  of  its  readers  know  the  original, 
some  do  not,  and  both  classes  have  to  be  met.  "The  English 
reader,"  as  Dr.  Rouse  remarks,  "may  be  quite  competent  to 
judge  of  a  translation  as  literature  and  as  intelligible  or  not 
intelligible,  but  he  cannot  judge  of  its  accuracy.  The  scholar 
alone  can  judge  of  its  accuracy,  but  (granting  that  he  has 
literary  taste)  he  knows  the  original  too  well  to  be  independ- 
ent of  it,  and  hence  cannot  judge  of  the  impression  which  the 
translation  will  make  on  the  minds  of  those  who  are  not 
scholars."  If  this  is  true  of  Homer,  it  is  three  times  true  of 
the  New  Testament.  Any  new  translation  starts  under  a 
special  handicap.  It  appears  to  challenge  in  every  line  the 
rhythm  and  diction  of  an  English  classic,  and  this  irritates 
many  who  have  no  knowledge  of  the  original.  The  old,  they 
say,  is  better.  They  are  indifferent  to  the  changes  which 
recent  grammatical  research  has  necessitated  in  the  transla- 
tion of  the  aorist,  the  article,  and  the  particles,  for  example, 
even  since  the  Revised  Version  of  1881  was  made.  But  in- 
telligibility is  more  than  associations,  and  to  atone  in  part  for 
the  loss  of  associations  I  have  endeavoured  to  make  the  New 
Testament,  especially  St.  Paul's  epistles,  as  intelligible  to  a 
modern  English  reader  as  any  version  that  is  not  a  paraphrase 
can  hope  to  make  them. 

This  raises  one  of  the  numerous  points  of  difficulty  that 
beset  the  translator.  How  far  is  he  justified  in  modernizing 
an  Oriental  book?  How  far  can  he  assume  that  certain  turns 
of  expression  have  become  naturalized  in  English  by  the 
Authorized  Version  itself?  I  have  never  seen  any  satisfactory 
solution  of  this  problem,  and  I  have  not  been  able  to  find  one. 
However,  it  is  superfluous  to  discuss  such  matters  at  length. 
This  is  not  the  place  to  develop  any  theories  on  the  subject. 
What  the  general  public  cares  for  is  a  translator's  practice 
rather  than  his  principles,  and  students  can  easily  detect  the 
latter,  or  the  lack  of  them,  in  the  former. 

I  wish  only  to  add  this  caution,  that  a  translator  appears  to 
be  more  dogmatic  than  he  really  is.  He  must  come  down  on 
one  side  of  the  fence  or  on  the  other.  He  has  often  to  decide 
on  a  rendering,  or  even  on  the  text  of  a  passage,  when  his  own 
mind  is  by  no  means  clear  and  certain.    In  a  number  of  cases, 


PREFACE  vii 

therefore,  when  the  evidence  is  conflicting,  I  must  ask  scholars 
and  students  to  believe  that  a  line  has  been  taken  only  after 
long  thought  and  only  with  serious  hesitation. 

The  translation  has  been  made  from  the  text  recently  issued 
by  Von  Soden  of  Berlin,  but  I  have  not  invariably  followed  his 
arrangement  and  punctuation.  Wherever  I  have  felt  obliged 
to  adopt  a  different  reading,  this  is  noted  at  the  foot  of  the 
page. 

Quotations  or  direct  reminiscences  of  the  Old  Testament  are 
printed  in  italics. 

The  books  are  arranged  for  the  convenience  of  the  general 
reader  in  the  order  of  the  English  Bible.  This  applies  to  the 
order  of  chapters  as  well.  Thus  the  last  four  chapters  of 
Second  Corinthians  appear  in  their  usual  canonical  position 
instead  of  in  what  I  believe  to  be  their  original  position 
between  First  and  Second  Corinthians.  The  only  exception 
I  have  made  to  this  rule  is  in  the  case  of  some  occasional 
transpositions  either  of  verses  or  of  paragraphs,  for  example, 
in  the  case  of  the  Fourth  Gospel.  Any  one  who  cares  to  look 
into  the  evidence  for  such  changes  will  find  it  in  my  Introduc- 
tion to  the  Literature  of  the  New  Testament. 

Lastly,  it  is  right  to  add  that  I  have  not  consulted  any  other 
version  of  the  New  Testament  in  preparing  this  work,  though 
probably  echoes  and  reminiscences  have  clung  to  one's  mind. 
The  only  version  I  have  kept  before  me  is  the  one  I  prepared 
thirteen  years  ago  for  my  Historical  New  Testament.  But  the 
present  version  is  not  a  revision  of  that.  It  is  an  independent 
work.  I  agreed  to  undertake  it  with  sharp  misgivings,  but  I 
trust  that  the  spirit  and  method  of  its  composition  may  at  any 
rate  do  something  to  make  some  parts  of  the  New  Testament 
more  intelligible  to  some  readers. 

James  Moffatt. 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

MATTHEW    1 

MARK 52; 

LUKE  83: 

JOHN  136 

ACTS 175 

ROMANS  225 

I.  CORINTHIANS ' 24T 

II.  CORINTHIANS 269 

GALATIANS    283 

EPHESIANS   290 

PHILIPPIANS    297 

COLOSSIANS   ^ 302 

I.  THESSALONIANS 307 

II.  THESSALONIANS 311 

I.  TIMOTHEUS 314 

II.  TIMOTHEUS 320 

TITUS  324 

PHILEMON 327 

HEBREWS   329 

JAMES 345 

ix 


X  CONTENTS 

PAGE 

I.  PETER 351 

II.  PETER 357 

I.  JOHN 361 

II.  JOHN 367 

III.  JOHN 368 

JUDAS   369 

REVELATION    371 


THE  NEW  TESTAMENT 
A  NEW  TRANSLATION 


THE  GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO 

S.  MATTHEW 

IThe  birth-roll  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  son  of  David,  the  son 
of  Abraham. 

2  Abraham  was  the  father  of   Isaac,   Isaac  the  father  of 

3  Jacob,  Jacob  the  father  of  Judah  and  his  brothers,  Judah 
the  father  of  Perez  and  Zerah  by  Tamar,  Perez  the  father 

4  of  Hezron,  Hezron  the  father  of  Aram,  Aram  the  father  of 
Aminadab,  Aminadab  the  father  of  Nahshon,  Nahshon  the 

5  father  of   Salmon,    Salmon  the  father  of  Boaz  by  Rahab, 
Boaz  the  father  of  Obed  by  Ruth,  Obed  the  father  of  Jessai, 

6  and  Jessai  the  father  of  king  David. 

David    was     the    father     of    Solomon    by    Uriah's    wife, 

7  Solomon  the  father  of  Rehoboam,  Rehoboam  the  father  of 

8  Abijah,  Abijah  the  father  of  Asa,  Asa  the  father  of  Jehosh- 
aphat,     Jehoshaphat     the     father     of     Joram,     Joram     the 

9  father  of  Uzziah,  Uzziah  the  father  of  Jotham,  Jotham  the 

10  father  of  Ahaz,  Ahaz  the  father  of  Hezekiah,  Hezekiah 
the   father   of   Manasseh,    Manasseh    the   father   of    Amon, 

11  Amon  the  father  of  Josiah,  and  Josiah  the  father  of 
Jechoniah  and  his  brothers  at  the  period  of  the  Babylonian 

12  captivity.  After  the  Babylonian  captivity,  Jechoniah  was 
the  father  of  Shealtiel,  Shealtiel  the  father  of  Zerubbabel, 

13  Zerubbabel  the  father  of  Abiud,  Abiud  the  father  of  Elia- 

14  kim,  Eliakim  the  father  of  Azor,  Azor  the  father  of  Zadok, 
Zadok   the   father   of  Achim,   Achim   the   father   of   Eliud, 

15  Eliud  the  father  of  Eleazar,  Eleazar  the  father  of  Matthan, 

16  Matthan  the  father  of  Jacob,  Jacob  the  father  of  Joseph, 
and  Joseph  (to  whom  the  virgin  Mary  was  betrothed)  the 
the  father  of  Jesus,  who  is  called  'Christ.' 

17  Thus  all  the  generations  from  Abraham  to  David  number 
fourteen,  from  David  to  the  Babylonian  captivity  fourteen, 
and  from  the  Babylonian  captivity  to  Christ  fourteen. 

18  The  birth  of  [Jesus]  Christ  came  about  thus.  His  mother 
Mary  was  betrothed  to  Joseph,  but  before  they  came  to- 
gether  she   was    discovered   to   be    pregnant   by   the   holy 

19  Spirit.  As  Joseph  her  husband  was  a  just  man  but  unwill- 
ing to  disgrace  her,  he  resolved  to   divorce   her  secretly; 

20  but  after  he  had  planned  this,  there  appeared  an  angel  of 
the  Lord  to  him  in  a  dream  saying,  "Joseph,  son  of  David, 
fear  not  to  take  Mary  your  wife  home,  for  what  is  begotten 

21  in  her  comes  from  the  holy  Spirit.     She  will  bear  a  son, 

1 


2  S.  MATTHEW  II 

and  you  will  call  him  'Jesus,'  for  he  will  save  his  people 

22  from  their  sins."  All  this  happened  for  the  fulfilment  of 
what  the  Lord  had  spoken  by  the  prophet: 

23  The  maiden  will  conceive  and  bear  a  son, 
and  Ms  name  will  fee  called  Immanuel 

24  (which  may  be  translated,  God  is  icith  iis).  So  on  waking 
from  sleep  Joseph  did  as  the  angel  of  the  Lord  had  com- 

25  manded  him;  he  took  his  wife  home,  but  he  did  not  live 
with  her  as  a  husband  till  she  bore  a  son,  whom  he  called 
Jesus. 

2   Now  when  Jesus  )vas  born  at  Bethlehem,  belonging  to 
Judaea,  in  the  days  of  king  Herod,  magicians  from  the 
2  East  arrived  at  Jerusalem,  asking,  "Where  is  the  newly- 
born  king  of  the  Jews?  We  saw  his  star  when  it  rose,  and  we 
8  have  come  to  worship  him."     The  news  of  this  troubled 

4  king  Herod  and  all  Jerusalem  as  well;  so  he  gathered  all 
the  high  priests  and  scribes  of  the  people  and  made  in- 
quiries of  them  about  where  the  messiah  was  to  be  born. 

5  They  told  him,  "In  Bethlehem  belonging  to  Judaea:  for 
thus  it  is  written  by  the  prophet: 

6  And  you  Bethlehem,  in  JudaWs  land, 

You  are  not  least  among  the  rulers  of  Judah: 
For  a  ruler  will  come  from  you, 

Who  will  shepherd  Israel  my  people.'^ 

7  Then  Herod  summoned  the  magicians  in  secret  and  ascer- 

8  tained  from  them  the  time  of  the  star's  appearance.  He 
also  sent  them  to  Bethlehem,  telling  them,  "Go  and  make  a 
careful  search  for  the  child,  and  when  you  have  found  him 

9  report  to  me,  so  that  I  can  go  and  worship  him  too."  The 
magicians  listened  to  the  king  and  then  went  their  way. 
And  the  star  they  had  seen  rise  went  in  front  of  them  till 

10  it  stopped  over  the  place  where  the  child  was.    When  they 

11  caught  sight  of  the  star  they  were  intensely  glad.  And  on 
reaching  the  house  they  saw  the  child  with  his  mother 
Mary,  they  fell  down  to  worship  him,  and  opening  their 
caskets  they  offered   him   gifts   of  gold  and  frankincense 

12  and  myrrh.  Then,  as  they  had  been  divinely  warned  in  a 
dream  not  to  return  to  Herod,  they  went  back  to  their  own 
country  by  a  different  road, 

13  After  they  had  gone,  there  appeared  an  angel  of  the 
Lord  to  Joseph  in  a  dream,  saying,  "Rise,  take  the  child 
and  his  mother  and  flee  to  Egypt;  stay  there  till  I  tell 
you.     For  Herod  is  going  to  search  for  the  child  and  de- 

14  stroy  him."     So  he  got  up,  took  the  child  and  his  mother 

15  by  night,  and  went  off  to  Egypt,  where  he  stayed  until 
the  death  of  Herod.  This  was  to  fulfil  what  the  Lord  had 
said  by  the  prophet:  /  called  my  Son  from  Egypt. 


S.  MATTHEW  III  3 

16  Then  Herod  saw  the  magicians  had  trifled  with  him,  and 
he  was  furiously  angry;  he  sent  and  slew  all  the  male 
children  in  Bethlehem  and  in  all  the  neighbourhood  who 
were  two  years  old  or  under,  calculating  by  the  time  he 

17  had  ascertained  from  the  magicians.  Then  the  saying"  was 
fulfilled  which  had  been  uttered  by  the  prophet  Jeremiah: 

18  A  cry  was  heard  in  Rama, 

weeping  and  sore  lamentation — 
Rachel  weeping  for  her  children,  ;f   ',:'•. 

and  inconsolable  tecause  they  are  no  more. 

19  But  when  Herod  died,  there  appeared  an  angel  of  the 

20  Lord  in  a  dream  to  Joseph  in  Egypt,  saying,  "Rise,  take 
the  child  and  his  mother  and  go  to  the  land  of  Israel,  for 

21  those  who  sought  the  child's  life  are  dead."  So  he  rose, 
took  the  child  and  his  mother  and  went  to  the  land  of 

22  Israel;  but  on  hearing  that  Archelaus  reigned  over  Judaea 
in  place  of  his  father  Herod,  he  was  afraid  to  go  there  and, 
by  a  divine  injunction  in  a  dream,  withdrew  to  the  region 

23  of  Galilee.  He  went  and  settled  in  a  town  called  Nazaret, 
so  that  what  had  been  said  by  the  prophets  might  be  ful- 
filled:  'He  shall  be  called  a  Nazarene.* 

3  In   those   days  John  the   Baptist   came   on  the   scene, 
preaching  in  the  desert  of  Judaea,  "Repent,  the  Reign 

3  of  heaven  is  near."  (This  was  the  man  spoken  of  by  the 
prophet  Isaiah: 

The  voice  of  one  who  cries  in  the  desert, 
'Make  the  way  ready  for  the  Lord, 
level  the  paths  for  him.') 

4  This  John  had  his  clothes  made  of  camel's  hair,  with  a 
leather  girdle  round  his  loins ;  his  food  was  locusts  and  wild 

5  honey.  Then  Jerusalem  and  the  whole  of  Judaea  and  all  the 

6  Jordan-district  went  out  to  him  and  got  baptized  by  him  in 

7  the  Jordan,  confessing  their  sins.  But  when  he  noticed  a 
number  of  the  Pharisees  and  Sadducees  coming  for  his 
baptism,  he  said  to  them,  "You  brood  of  vipers,  who  told 

8  you  to  flee  from  the  coming  Wrath?  Now,  produce  fruit  that 

9  answers  to  your  repentance,  instead  of  presuming  to  say  to 
yourselves,  'We  have  a  father  in  Abraham.'    I  tell  you,  God 

10  can  raise  up  children  for  Abraham  from  these  stones!  The 
axe  is  lying  all  ready  at  the  root  of  the  trees;  any  tree  that 
is  not  producing  good  fruit  will  be  cut  down  and  thrown 
into  the  fire. 

11  I  baptize  you  with  water  for  repentance, 

but  he  who  is  coming  after  me  is  mightier, 
and  I  am  not  fit  even  to  carry  his  sandals; 
he  will  baptize  you  with  the  holy  Spirit  and  fire. 

12  His  winnowing-fan  is  in  his  hand. 


4  S.  MATTHEW  IV 

he  will  clean  out  his  threshing-floor, 

his  wheat  he  will  gather  into  the  granary, 

but  the  straw  he  will  burn  with  fire  unquenchable." 

13  Then  Jesus  came  on  the  scene  from  Galilee,  to  get  bap- 

14  fized  by  John  at  the  Jordan,  John  tried  to  prevent  him; 
"I  need  to  get  baptized  by  you,"  he  said,  "and  you  come 

15  to  me!"  But  Jesus  answered  him,  "Come  now,  this  is  how 
we  should  fulfil  all  our  duty  to  God."     Then  John  gave 

16  in  to  him.  Now  when  Jesus  had  been  baptized,  the  mo- 
ment he  rose  out  of  the  water,  the  heavens  opened  and  he 
saw  the  Spirit  of  God  coming  down  like  a  dove  upon  him. 

17  And  a  voice  from  heaven  said, 

"This  is  my  Son,  the  Beloved, 
in  him  is  my  delight.' 

4  Then  Jesus  was  led  into  the  desert  by  the  Spirit  to  be 
tempted  by  the  devil.     He  fasted  forty  days  and  forty 

3  nights  and  afterwards  felt  hungry.     So  the  tempter  came 
up  and  said  to  him,  "If  you  are  God's  Son,  tell  these  stones 

4  to  become  loaves."     He  answered,  "It  is  written, 

Man  is  not  to  live  on  hread  alone, 

l)tit  on  every  word  that  issues  from  the  mouth  of  God.'' 

5  Then  the  devil  conveyed  him  to  the  holy  city  and,  placing 

6  him  on  the  pinnacle  of  the  temple,  said  to  him,  "If  you  are 
God's  Son,  throw  yourself  down;  for  it  is  written, 

He  will  give  his  angels  charge  of  you; 

they  ivill  hear  you  on  their  hands, 

lest  you  strike  your  foot  against  a  stone.'' 

7  Jesus  said  to  him,  "It  is  written  again.  You  shall  not  tempt 

8  the  Lord  your  God."     Once  more  the  devil  conveyed  him 
to  an  exceedingly  high  mountain  and  showed  him  all  the 

9  realms  of  the  world  and  their  grandeur;   he  said,  "I  will 
give  you  all  that  if  you  will  fall  down  and  worship  me." 

10  Then  Jesus  told  him,  "Begone,  Satan!  it  is  written.  You 
must  worship  the  Lord  your  God,  and  serve  him  alone." 

11  At  this  the  devil  left  him,  and  angels  came  up  and  min- 
istered to  him. 

12  Now  when  Jesus  heard  that  John  had  been  arrested,  he 

13  withdrew  to  Galilee;  he  left  Nazaret  and  settled  at  Cap- 
harnahum    beside   the   lake,    in   the   territory   of   Zebulun 

14  and  Naphtali — for  the  fulfilment  of  what  had  been  said  by 
the  prophet  Isaiah: 

15  Land  of  Zebulun,  land  of  Naphtali 
lying  to  the  sea,  across  the  Jordan, 

Galilee  of  the  Gentiles! 

16  The  people  who  sat  in  darkness  saw  a  great  light, 

yea  light  dawned  on  those  who  sat  in  the  land  and  the 
shadow  of  death. 


S.  MATTHEW  V  5 

17  From  that  day  Jesus  began  to  preach,  saying,  "Repent,  the 
Reign  of  heaven  is  near." 

18  As  he  was  walking  along  the  sea  of  Galilee  he  saw  two 
brothers,  Simon  (who  is  called  Peter)  and  his  brother 
Andrew,  casting  a  net  in  the  sea — for  they  were  fishermen; 

19  so  he  said  to  them,  "Come,  follow  me,  and  I  will  make  you 

20  fish  for  men."    And  they  dropped  their  nets  at  once  and  fol- 

21  lowed  him.  Then  going  on  from  there  he  saw  two  other 
brothers,  James  the  son  of  Zebedaeus  and  his  brother 
John,  mending  their  nets  in  the  boat  beside  their  father 

22  Zebedaeus.  He  called  them,  and  they  left  the  boat  and 
their  father  at  once,  and  went  after  him. 

23  Then  he  made  a  tour  through  the  whole  of  Galilee,  teach- 
ing in  their  synagogues,  preaching  the  gospel  of  the  Reign, 
and  healing  all   the   sickness   and   disease  of   the   people. 

24  The  fame  of  him  spread  all  through  the  surrounding 
country,*  and  people  brought  him  all  their  sick,  those  who 
suffered  from  all  manner  of  disease  and  pain,  demoniacs, 
lunatics,  and  paralytics;  he  healed  them  all. 

25  And  he  was  followed  by  great  crowds  from  Galilee  and  De- 
capolis  and  Jerusalem  and  Judaeaand  from  across  the  Jordan. 

5  So  when  he  saw  the  crowds,  he  went  up  the  hill  and 
sat  down;  his  disciples  came  up  to  him  and  he  opened 
his  lips  and  began  to  teach  them.     He  said: 

3  "Blessed  are  those  who  feel  poor  in  spirit! 

the  Realm  of  heaven  is  theirs. 

4  Blessed  are  the  mourners! 

they  will  be  consoled. 

5  Blessed  are  the  huvihle! 

they  will  inherit  the  earth. 

6  Blessed  are  those  who  hunger  and  thirst  for  goodness! 

they  will  be  satisfied. 

7  Blessed  are  the  merciful! 

they  will  find  mercy. 

8  Blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart! 

they  will  see  God. 

9  Blessed  are  the  peacemakers! 

they  will  be  ranked  sons  of  God. 

10  Blessed  are  those  who  have  been  persecuted  for  the  sake 

of  goodness! 
the  Realm  of  heaven  is  theirs. 

11  Blessed  are  you  when  men  denounce  you  and  persecute 
you  and  utter  all  manner  of  evil  against  you  for  my  sake; 

12  rejoice  and  exult  in  it,  for  your  reward  is  rich  in  heaven; 
that  is  how  they  persecuted  the  prophets  before  you. 

*  I  accept  Blass's  suggestion  that  "Sivpiav  here  is  a  corruption  of  auvopiav 
(see  Mark  i.  28),  which  is  actually  read  by  one  uncial  manuscript  T. 


6  S.  MATTHEW  V 

13  You  are  the  salt  of  the  earth.  But  if  salt  becomes  in- 
sipid, what  can  make  it  salt  again?  After  that  it  is  fit 
for  nothing,  fit  only  to  be  thrown  outside  and  trodden  by 
the  feet  of  men. 

14  You  are  the  light  of  the  world.     A  town  on  the  top  of  a 

15  hill  cannot  be  hidden.  Nor  do  men  light  a  lamp  to  put 
it  under  a  bowl;  they  put  it  on  a  stand  and  it  shines  for 

16  all  in  the  house.  So  your  light  is  to  shine  before  men, 
that  they  may  see  the  good  you  do  and  glorify  your  Father 
in  heaven. 

17  Do  not  imagine  I  have  come  to  destroy  the  Law  or  the 

18  prophets;  I  have  not  come  to  destroy  but  to  fulfil.  (I  tell 
you  truly,  till  heaven  and  earth  pass  away  not  an  iota,  not 
a  comma,  will  pass  from  the  Law  until  it  is  all  in  force. 
Therefore 

19  whoever  relaxes  a  single  one  of  these  commands,  were  it 

even  one  of  the  least,  and  teaches  men  so, 
he  will  be  ranked  least  in  the  Realm  of  heaven; 
but  whoever  obeys  them  and  teaches  them, 

20  he  will  be  ranked  great  in  the  Realm  of  heaven.)  For 
I  tell  you,  unless  your  goodness  excels  that  of  the  scribes 
and  Pharisees,  you  will  never  get  into  the  Realm  of 
heaven. 

21  You  have  heard  how  the  men  of  old  were  told,  'Murder 
not: 

whoever  murders  must  come  up  for  sentence,* 

22  whoever  maligns  his  brother  must  come  before  the  San- 

hedrin, 
whoever    curses    his    brother    must    go    to    the    fire    of 
Gehenna.' 
But  I  tell  you,  whoever  is  angry  with  his  brother  [without 

23  cause]  will  be  sentenced  by  God.  So  if  you  remember,  even 
when  offering  your  gift  at  the  altar,  that  your  brother  has 

24  any  grievance  against  you,  leave  your  gift  at  the  very  altar 
and  go  away ;  first  be  reconciled  to  your  brother,  then  come 
back  and  offer  your  gift. 

25  Be  quick  and  make  terms  with  your  opponent,  so  long 
as  you  and  he  are  on  the  way  to  court,  in  case  he  hands 
you  over  to  the  judge,  and  the  judge  to  the  jailer,  and  you 

26  are  thrown  into  prison;  truly  I  tell  you,  you  will  never  get 
out  till  you  pay  the  last  halfpenny  of  your  debt. 

27  You  have  heard  how  it  used  to  be  said.  Do  not  commit 

28  adultery.  But  I  tell  you,  any  one  who  even  looks  with  lust 
at  a  woman  has  committed  adultery  with  her  already  in 
his  heart. 

*  I  follow  the  suggestion  that  the  second  and  third  clauses  of  ver.  22 
should  be  restored  to  what  seems  to  be  their  original  position  as  a  rab- 
binic comment  upon  the  closing  words  of  ver.  21. 


S.  MATTHEW  V  7 

29  If  your  right  eye  is  a  hindrance  to  you, 

pluck  it  out  and  throw  it  away: 
better  for  you  to  lose  one  of  your  members 

than  to  have  all  your  body  thrown  into  Gehenna. 

30  And  if  your  right  hand  is  a  hindrance  to  you, 

cut  it  off  and  throw  it  away: 
better  for  you  to  lose  one  of  your  members 

than  to  have  all  your  body  thrown  into  Gehenna. 

31  It  used  to  be  said.  Whoever  divorces  Ms  wife  must  give 

32  her  a  divorce-certificate.  But  I  tell  you,  anyone  who  di- 
vorces his  wife  for  any  reason  except  unchastity  makes 
her  an  adulteress;  and  whoever  marries  a  divorced  woman 
commits  adultery. 

33  Once  again,  you  have  heard  how  the  men  of  old  were 
told,  'You  must  not  forswear  yourself  but  discharge  your 

34  vows  to  the  Lord'.  But  I  tell  you,  you  must  not  swear  any 
oath, 

neither  by  heaven, 

for  it  is  the  throne  of  God, 

35  nor  by  earth, 

for  it  is  the  footstool  of  his  feet. 
nor  by  Jerusalem, 

for  it  is  the  city  of  the  great  King; 

36  nor  shall  you  swear  by  your  head, 

for  you  cannot  make  a  single  hair  white  or  black. 

37  Let  what  you  say  be  simply  *yes'  or  'no'; 
whatever  exceeds  that  springs  from  evil. 

38  You  have  heard  the  saying.  An  eye  for  an  eye  and  a 
tooth  for  a  tooth. 

39  But  I  tell  you,  you  are  not  to  resist  an  injury: 

whoever  strikes  you  on  the  right  cheek, 
turn  the  other  to  him  as  well; 

40  whoever  wants  to  sue  you  for  your  shirt, 

let  him  have  your  coat  as  well; 

41  whoever  forces  you  to  go  one  mile, 

go  two  miles  with  him; 

42  give  to  the  man  who  begs  from  you, 

and  turn  not  away  from  him  who  wants  to  borrow. 

43  You  have  heard  the  saying,  'You  must  love  your  neigh- 

44  hour  and   hate   your   enemy.'     But   I   tell  you,   love   your 

45  enemies  and  pray  for  those  who  persecute  you,  that  you 
may  be  sons  of  your  Father  in  heaven: 

he  makes  his  sun  rise  on  the  evil  and  the  good, 
and  sends  rain  on  the  just  and  the  unjust. 

46  For  if  you  love  only  those  who  love  you,  what  reward 

do   you   get  for  that? 
do  not  the  very  taxgatherers  do  as  much? 


8  S.  MATTHEW  VI 

47.      and  if  you  only  salute  your  friends,  what  is  special  about 
that? 
do  not  the  very  pagans  do  as  much? 
48       You  must  be  perfect  as  your  heavenly  Father  is  perfect. 

6  Take  care  not  to  practise  your  charity  before  men  in 
order  to  be  noticed;  otherwise  you  get  no  reward  from 
your  Father  in  heaven.     No, 

2  When  you  give  alms, 

make  no  flourish  of  trumpets  like  the  hypocrites  in  the 
synagogues  and  the  streets, 
so  as  to  win  applause  from  men; 

I  tell  you  truly,  they  do  get  their  reward. 

3  When  you  give  alms, 

do  not  let  your  left  hand  know  what  your  right  hand  is 
doing, 

4  so  as  to  keep  your  alms  secret; 

then    your    Father    who    sees    what    is    secret    will 
reward  you  openly.* 

5  Also,  when  you  pray,  you  must  not  be  like  the  hypocrites, 

for  they  like  to  stand  and  pray  in  the  synagogues  and 
at  the  street-corners, 
so  as  to  be  seen  by  men; 

I  tell  you  truly,  they  do  get  their  reward. 

6  When  you  pray, 

go  into  your  room  and  shut  the  door, 
pray  to  your  Father  who  is  in  secret, 

and  your  Father  who  sees  what  is  secret  will  reward 
you. 

7  Do  not  pray  by  idle  rote  like  pagans, 

for  they  suppose  they  will  be  heard  the  more  they  say; 

8  you  must  not  copy  them; 

your  Father  knows  your  needs  before  you  ask  him. 

9  Let  this  be  how  you  pray: 

'our  Father  in  heaven, 
thy  name  be  revered, 

10  thy  Reign  begin, 
thy  will  be  done 

on  earth  as  in  heaven! 

11  give  us  to-day  our  bread  for  the  morrow, 

12  and  forgive  us  our  debts 

as  we  ourselves  have  forgiven  our  debtors, 

13  and  lead  us  not  into  temptation 
but  deliver  us  from  evil.' 

14  For  if  you  forgive  men  their  trespasses, 

then  your  heavenly  Father  will  forgive  you; 
*  Retaining  ^v  rip   (pavepip,  which  has  powerful   support   in   the   Old 
Latin  and  Syriac  versions. 


S.  MATTHEW  VI  9 

15  but  if  you  do  not  forgive  men, 

your  Father  will  not  forgive  your  trespasses  either. 

16  When  you  fast, 

do  not  look  gloomy  like  the  hypocrites, 
for  they  look  woebegone  to  let  men  see  they  are  fasting; 
I  tell  you  truly,  they  do  get  their  reward. 

17  But  when  you  fast, 

anoint  your  head  and  wash  your  face, 

18  so  that  your  fast  may  be  seen  not  by  men  but  by  your 

Father  who  is  in  secret, 
and  your  Father  who  sees  what  is  secret  will  reward 
you. 

19  Store  up  no  treasures  for  yourselves  on  earth, 

where  moth  and  rust  corrode, 
where  thieves  break  in  and  steal: 

20  store  up  treasures  for  yourselves  in  heaven, 

where  neither  moth  nor  rust  corrode, 
where  thieves  do  not  break  in  and  steal. 

21  For  where  your  treasure  lies, 

your  heart  will  lie  there  too. 

22  The  eye  is  the  lamp  of  the  body: 
so,  if  your  Eye  is  generous, 

the  whole  of  your  body  will  be  illumined, 

23  but  if  your  Eye  is  selfish, 

the  whole  of  your  body  will  be  darkened. 
And  if  your  very  light  turns  dark, 
then — what  a  darkness  it  is! 

24  No  one  can  serve  two  masters: 

either  he  will  hate  one  and  love  the  other, 

or  else  he  will  stand  by  the  one  and  despise  the  other — 
you  cannot  serve  both  God  and  Mammon. 

25  Therefore  I  tell  you, 

do  not  trouble  about  what  you  are  to  eat  or  drink  in  life, 
nor  about  what  you  are  to  put  on  your  body; 
surely  life  means  more  than  food, 

surely  the  body  means  more  than  clothes! 

26  Look  at  the  wild  birds; 

they  sow  not,  they  reap  not,  they  gather  nothing  in 

granaries, 
and  yet  your  heavenly  Father  feeds  them. 
Are  you  not  worth  more  than  birds? 

27  Which  of  you  can  add  an  ell  to  his  height  by  troubling 

about  it? 

28  And  why  should  you  trouble  over  clothing? 
Look  how  the  lilies  of  the  field  grow; 

they  neither  toil  nor  spin, 

29  and  yet,  I  tell  you,  even  Solomon  in  all  bis  grandeur 

was.  never  robed  like  one  of  them. 


10  S.  MATTHEW  VII 

30  Now  if  God  so  clothes  the  grass  of  the  field  which  blooms 
to-day  and  is  thrown  to-morrow  into  the  furnace,  will  not 
he  much  more  clothe  you?     O  men,  how  little  you  trust 

31  him!  Do  not  be  troubled,  then,  and  cry,  'What  are  we  to 
eat?'   or   'what  are  we   to   drink?'  or  'how  are  we  to  be 

32  clothed?'  (pagans  make  all  that  their  aim  in  life)  for  your 

33  heavenly  Father  knows  quite  well  you  need  all  that.  Seek 
God's  Realm  and  his  goodness,  and  all  that  will  be  yours 
over  and  above. 

34  So  do  not  be  troubled  about  to-morrow; 

to-morrow  will  take  care  of  itself. 

The  day's  own  trouble  is  quite  enough  for  the  day. 


7 


Judge  not,  that  you  may  not  be  judged  yourselves; 
for  as  you  judge  so  you  will  be  judged, 
and  the  measure  you  deal  out  to  others  will  be  dealt 
out  to  yourselves. 
8       Why  do  you  note  the  splinter  in  your  brother's  eye  and 

4  fail  to  see  the  plank  in  your  own  eye?  How  can  you  say 
to  your  brother,  'Let  me  take  out  the  splinter  from  your 

5  eye,'  when  there  lies  the  plank  in  your  own  eye?  You 
hypocrite!  take  the  plank  out  of  your  own  eye  first,  and 
then  you  will  see  properly  how  to  take  the  splinter  out  of 
your  brother's  eye. 

6  Do  not  give  dogs  what  is  sacred  and  do  not  throw  pearls 
before  swine,  in  case  they  trample  them  under  foot  and 
turn  to  gore  you. 

7  Ask  and  the  gift  will  be  yours, 

seek  and  you  will  find, 
knock  and  the  door  will  open  to  you; 

8  for  every  one  who  asks  receives, 

the  seeker  finds, 

the  door  is  opened  to  anyone  who  knocks. 

9  Why,  which  of  you,  when  asked  by  his  son  for  a  loaf,  will 

hand  him  a  stone? 

10  Or,  if  he  asks  a  fish,  will  you  hand  him  a  serpent? 

11  Well,  if  for  all  your  evil  you  know  to  give  your  children 

what  is  good, 
how  much  more  will  your  Father  in  heaven  give  good 
gifts  to  those  who  ask  him? 

12  Well  then,  whatever  you  would  like  men  to  do  to  you, 
do  just  the  same  to  them;  that  is  the  meaning  of  the  Law 
and  the  prophets. 

13  Enter  by  the  narrow  gate: 

for  [the  gate]  is  broad  and  the  road  is  wide  that  leads 
to  destruction, 
and  many  enter  that  way. 


S.  MATTHEW  VIII  11 

14  But  the  road  that  leads  to  life   is  both   narrow  and 

close, 
and  there  are  few  who  find  it. 

15  Beware  of  false  prophets;  they  come  to  you  with  the 
garb    of   sheep    but    at    heart    they    are    ravenous    wolves. 

16  You  will  know  them  by  their  fruit;  do  men  gather  grapes 
from  thorns  or  figs  from  thistles?    No, 

17  every  good  tree  bears  sound  fruit, 

but  a  rotten  tree  bears  bad  fruit; 

18  a  good  tree  cannot  bear  bad  fruit, 

and  a  rotten  tree  cannot  bear  sound  fruit. 
j9       So  you  will  know  them  by  their  fruit.*     Any  tree  that 
does    not    produce    sound    fruit    will    be    cut    down    and 
thrown  into  the  fire. 

21  It  is  not  everyone  who  says  to  me  'Lord,  Lord!',  who 
will  get  into  the  Realm  of  heaven,  but  he  who  does  the  will 

22  of  my  Father  in  heaven.  Many  will  say  to  me  at  that  Day, 
'Lord,  Lord,  did  we  not  prophesy  in  your  name?  did  we  not 
cast  out  daemons  in  your  name?  did  we  not  perform  many 

23  miracles  in  your  name?'  Then  I  will  declare  to  them,  'I 
never  knew  you;  depart  from  my  presence,  you  workers 
of  iniquity.* 

24  Now,  everyone  who  listens  to  these  words  of  mine  and 
acts  upon  them  will  be  like  a  sensible  man  who  built  his 

25  house  on  rock.  The  rain  came  down,  the  floods  rose,  the 
winds  blew  and  beat  upon  that  house,  but  it  did  not  fall, 

26  for  it  was  founded  on  rock.  And  everyone  who  listens  to 
these  words  of  mine  and  does  not  act  upon  them  will  be 

27  like  a  stupid  man  who  built  his  house  on  sand.  The  rain 
came  down,  the  floods  rose,  the  winds  blew  and  beat  upon 
that  house,  and  down  it  fell — with  a  mighty  crash." 

28  When   Jesus   finished   his   speech,   the    crowds   were   as- 

29  tounded  at  his  teaching;  for  he  taught  them  like  an 
authority,  not  like  their  own  scribes. 

8  When  he  came  down  from  the  hill,  he  was  followed  by 
large  crowds.     A  leper  came  up  and  knelt  before  him, 
saying,   "If  you   only   choose,   sir,   you    can    cleanse    me"; 

3  so  he  stretched  his  hand  out  and  touched  him,  with  the 
words,  "I  do  choose,  be  cleansed."     And  his  leprosy  was 

4  cleansed  at  once.  Then  Jesus  told  him,  "See,  you  are  not 
to  say  a  word  to  anybody;  away  and  show  yourself  to  the 
priest  and  ofCer  the  gift  prescribed  by  Moses,  to  notify 
men." 

5  When  he  entered  Capharnahum  an  army-captain  came 

*  Ver.  19  is  repeated  from  Hi.  10;  to  preserve  the  proper  sequence 
of  thought,  it  must  be  placed  after  ver.  20  as  a  Link  with  the  foUowing 
paragraph. 


12  S.  MATTHEW  VIII 

6  up  to  him  and  appealed  to  him,  saying,  "Sir,  my  servant 

7  is  lying  ill  at  home  with  paralysis,  in  terrible  agony."    He 

8  replied,  "I  will  come  and  heal  him."  The  captain  an- 
swered, "Sir,  I   am  not  fit  to   have  you  under   my   roof; 

9  only  say  the  word,  and  my  servant  will  be  cured.  For 
though  I  am  a  man  under  authority  myself,  I  have  soldiers 
under  me;  I  tell  one  man  to  go,  and  he  goes,  I  tell  another 
to  come,  and  he  comes,  I  tell  my  servant,  'Do  this,'  and 

10  he  does  it,"  When  Jesus  heard  that,  he  marvelled;  "I  tell 
you   truly,"  he  said  to  his  followers,   "I   have   never  met 

11  faith  like  this  anywhere  in  Israel.  Many,  I  tell  you, 
will  come  from  east  and  ivest  and  take  their  places  beside 

12  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob  in  the  Realm  of  heaven,  while 
the  sons  of  the  Realm  will  pass*  outside,  into  the  darkness; 

13  there  men  will  wail  and  gnash  their  teeth."  Then  Jesus 
said  to  the  captain,  "Go;  as  you  have  had  faith,  your 
prayer  is  granted."  And  the  servant  was  cured  at  that 
very  hour. 

14  On    entering    the    house    of    Peter,    Jesus    noticed    his 

15  mother-in-law  was  down  with  fever,  so  he  touched  her 
hand;  the  fever  left  her  and  she  rose  and  ministered  to 
him. 

16  Now  when  evening  came  they  brought  him  many  de- 
moniacs,   and   he    cast   out   the    spirits   with    a    word    and 

17  healed  all  the  invalids — that  the  word  spoken  by  the 
prophet  Isaiah  might  be  fulfilled.  He  took  aicay  our  sick- 
nesses and  he  removed  our  diseases. 

18  When  Jesus  saw  crowds  round  him  he  gave  orders  for 

19  crossing  to  the  other  side.     A  scribe  came  up  and  said  to 

20  him,  "Teacher,  I  will  follow  you  anywhere";  Jesus  said  to 
him, 

"The  foxes  have  their  holes, 
the  wild  birds  have  their  nests, 
but  the  Son  of  man  has  nowhere  to  lay  his  head." 

21  Another   of   the   disciples   said   to   him,   "Lord,   let   me   go 

22  and  bury  my  father  first  of  all";  Jesus  said  to  him,  "Fol- 
low   me,    and    leave    the    dead    to    bury    their    own    dead." 

23  Then  he  embarked  in  the  boat,  followed  by  his  disciples. 

24  Now  a  heavy  storm  came  on  at  sea,  so  that  the  boat  was 

25  buried  under  the  waves.  He  was  sleeping.  So  the  disciples 
went  and  woke  him  up,  saying,  "Help,  Lord,  we  are  drown- 

26  ing!"  He  said  to  them,  "Why  are  you  afraid?  How  little 
you  trust  God!"  Then  he  got  up  and  checked  the  winds  and 

27  the  sea,  and  there  was  a  great  calm.     Men  marvelled  at 
*  Reading  i^eXetjaovrai  with  K*,  the  Old    I>atin  and  Syriac  versions, 

the  Diatessaron,  etc.  The  variant  iK^XrjdrjaopTai  represents  a  conven- 
tional term  which  would  easily  be  substituted  for  the  less  common 
expression. 


S.  MATTHEW  IX  13 

this;    they  said,   "What  sort  of  man   is  this?     the  very 
winds  and  sea  obey  him!" 

28  When  he  reached  the  opposite  side,  the  country  of  the 
Gadarenes,  he  was  met  by  two  demoniacs  who  ran  out  of 
the  tombs;    they  were  so  violent  that  nobody  could  pass 

29  along  the  road  there.  They  shrieked,  "Son  of  God,  what 
business  have  you  with  us?     Have  you  come  here  to  tor- 

30  ture   us   before   it   is   time?"     Now,   some    distance    away, 

31  there  was  a  large  drove  of  swine  grazing;  so  the  daemons 
begged  him  saying,  "If  you  are  going  to  cast  us  out,  send 

32  us  into  that  drove  of  swine."  He  said  to  them,  "Begone!" 
So  out  they  came  and  went  to  the  swine,  and  the  entire 
drove  rushed  down  the  steep  slope  into  the  sea  and  per- 1 

33  ished  in  the  water.  The  herdsmen  fled;  they  went  off  to 
the  town  and  reported  the  whole  affair  of  the  demoniacs. 

34  Then  all  the  town  came  out  to  meet  Jesus,  and  when  they 
saw  him  they  begged  him  to  move  out  of  their  district. 

9  So  he  embarked  in  the  boat  and  crossed  over  to  his 
own  town.  There  a  paralytic  was  brought  to  him, 
lying  on  a  pallet;  and  when  Jesus  saw  the  faith  of  the 
bearers  he  said  to  the  paralytic,  "Courage,  my  son!   your 

3  sins    are    forgiven."      Some    scribes    said    to    themselves, 

4  "The  man  is  talking  blasphemy!"  Jesus  saw  what  they 
were  thinking  and  said,  "Why  do  you  think  evil  in  your 

5  hearts?     Which  is  the  easier  thing,  to  say,  'Your  sins  are 

6  forgiven,'  or  to  say,  'Rise  and  walk'?  But  to  let  you  see 
the  Son  of  man  has  power  on  earth  to  forgive  sins" — he 
then  said  to  the  paralytic,  "Get  up,  lift  your  pallet,  and 

I  go  home."  And  he  got  up  and  went  home.  The  crowds 
who  saw  it  were  awed  and  glorified  God  for  giving  such 
power  to  men. 
^9  As  Jesus  passed  along  from  there,  he  saw  a  man  called 
Matthew  sitting  at  the  tax-office;  he  said  to  him,  "Follow 
me";  and  he  rose  and  followed  him. 

10  Jesus  was  at  table  indoors,  and  many  taxgatherers  and 
sinners  had  come  to  be  guests  with  him  and  his  disciples. 

11  So  when  the  Pharisees  saw  this,  they  said  to  his  disciples, 
"Why     does     your    teacher     eat     with     taxgatherers     and 

12  sinners?"  When  Jesus  heard  it  he  said,  "Those  who  are 
strong  have  no  need  of  a  doctor,  but  those  who  are  ill. 

13  Go  and  learn  the  meaning  of  this  word,  /  care  for  mercy 
not  for  sacrifice.  For  I  have  not  come  to  call  just  men 
but  sinners." 

14  Then  the  disciples  of  John  came  up  to  him  and  said, 
"Why  do  we  and  the  Pharisees  fast  a  great  deal,  and  your 
disciples  do  not  fast?" 

15  Jesus  said  to  them, 


14  S.  MATTHEW  IX 

"Can  friends  at  a  wedding  mourn  so  long  as  the  bride- 
groom is  beside  them? 

A  time  will  come  when  the  bridegroom  is  taken  from 
them,  and  then  they  will  fast. 

16  No  one  sews  a  piece  of  undressed  cloth  on  an  old  coat, 

for  the  patch  breaks  away  from  it, 
and  the  tear  is  made  worse: 

17  nor  do  men  pour  fresh  wine  into  old  wineskins, 

otherwise  the  wineskins  burst, 

and  the  wine  is  spilt,  the  wineskins  are  ruined. 
They  put  fresh  wine  into  fresh  wineskins, 
and  so  both  are  preserved." 

18  As  he  said  this,  an  official  came  in  and  knelt  before  him, 
saying,  "My  daughter  is  just  dead;   do  come  and  lay  your 

19  hand  on  her,  and  she  will  live."     So  Jesus  rose  and  went 

20  after  him,  accompanied  by  his  disciples.  Now  a  woman 
who    had    had    a   hemorrhage    for    twelve    years    came    up 

21  behind  him  and  touched  the  tassel  of  his  robe;  what  she 
said  to  herself  was  this,  "If  I   can   only  touch   his   robe, 

22  I  will  recover."  Then  Jesus  turned  round,  and  when  he  saw 
her  he  said,  "Courage,  my  daughter,  your  faith  has  made 
you   well."     And    the    woman    was    well    from   that    hour. 

23  Now  when  Jesus  reached  the  official's  house  and  saw  the 
flute-players    and    the    din    the    crowd    were    making,    he 

24  said,  "Be  off  with  you;   the  girl  is  not  dead  but  asleep." 

25  They  laughed  at  him.  But  after  the  crowd  had  been  put 
out,  he  went  in  and  took  her  hand,  and  the  girl  rose  up. 

26  The  report  of  this  went  all  over  that  country. 

27  As  Jesus  passed  along  from  there,  he  was  followed  by 
two  blind  men  who  shrieked,  "Son  of  David,  have  pity  on 

28  us!"  When  he  went  indoors  the  blind  men  came  up  to 
him,   and    Jesus   asked   them,   "Do   you   believe    I    can    do 

29  this?"  They  said,  "Yes,  sir."  Then  he  touched  their  eyes 
and   said,   "As   you   believe,   so   your   prayer   is   granted," 

30  and  their  eyes  were  opened.     Jesus  sternly  charged  them, 

31  "See,  nobody  is  to  know  of  this."     But  they  went  out  and 

32  spread  the  news  of  him  all  over  that  country.  As  they 
went  out,  a  dumb  man  was  brought  to  him,  who  was  pos- 

33  sessed  by  a  daemon,  and  when  the  daemon  had  been  cast 
out,  the  dumb  man  spoke.  Then  the  crowd  marvelled; 
they  said,  "Such  a  thing  has  never  been  seen  in  Israel!"* 

35  Then  Jesus  made  a  tour  through  all  the  towns  and 
villages,  teaching  in  their  synagogues,  preaching  the 
gospel  of  the  Reign,  and  healing  every  disease  and  com- 

*  Ver.  34  ('But  the  Pharisees  said,  "He  casts  out  daemons  by  the 
prince  of  daemons"  ')  is  to  be  omitted,  with  D,  Syr.sin.,  the  Old  Latin, 
the  Diatessaron,  etc.  It  is  probably  a  later  insertion  from  xii.  24  Or 
Mark  iii.  22,  to  prepare  for  xii.  24  f. 


S.  MATTHEW  X  15 

36  plaint.  As  he  saw  the  crowds  he  was  moved  with  pity  for 
them;   they  were  harassed  and  dejected,  like  sheep  with- 

37  out    a    shepherd.      Then    he    said    to    his    disciples,    "The 

38  harvest  is  rich,  but  the  labourers  are  few;  so  pray  the 
Lord  of  the  harvest  to  send  labourers  to  gather  his  har- 
vest." 

1  r\  And  summoning  his   twelve   disciples   he   gave   them 
1  v/  power  over  unclean  spirits,  power  to  cast  them  out 

2  and  also  to  heal  every  disease  and  every  ailment.  These 
are  the  names  of  the  twelve  apostles:  first  Simon  (who  is 
called  Peter)    and  Andrew  his  brother,  James  the  son  of 

3  Zebedaeus  and  John  his  brother,  Philip  and  Bartholomew, 
Thomas  and  Matthew  the  taxgatherer,  James  the  son  of 
Alphaeus    and    Lebbaeus    whose    surname    is    Thaddaeus, 

4  Simon  the  Zealot  and  Judas  Iscariot  who  betrayed  him. 

5  These    twelve    men    Jesus    despatched    with    the    following 

6  instructions,  "Do  not  go  among  the  Gentiles,  rather  make 

7  your  way  to  the  lost  sheep  of  the  house  of  Israel.  And 
preach  as  you  go,  tell  men,  'The  Reign  of  heaven  is  near.' 

8  Heal  the  sick,  raise  the  dead,  cleanse  lepers,  cast  out 
daemons;    give  without  paying,  as  you  have  got  without 

9  paying;   you  are  not  to  take  gold  or  silver  or  coppers  in 

10  your  girdle,  nor  a  wallet  for  the  road,  nor  two  shirts,  nor 
sandals,    nor    stick — the    workman    deserves    his    rations. 

11  Whatever  town  or  village  you  go  into,  find  out  a  deserv- 
ing inhabitant  and  stay  with  him  till  you  leave. 

12  When  you  enter  the  house,  salute  it; 

13  if  the  household  is   deserving, 

let  your  peace  rest  on  it; 
but  if  the  household  is  undeserving, 
let  your  peace  return  to  you. 

14  Whoever  will  not  receive  you  or  listen  to  your  message, 
leave  that  house  or  town  and  shake  off  the  very  dust  from 

15  your  feet,  I  tell  you  truly,  on  the  day  of  judgment  it  will  be 
more  bearable  for  Sodom  and  Gomorra  than  for  that  town. 

16  I   am   sending  you   out  like   sheep   among   wolves;    so   be 

17  wise  like  serpents  and  guileless  like  doves.  Beware  of 
men,  they  will  hand  you  over  to  sanhedrins  and  scourge 

18  you  in  their  synagogues,  and  you  will  be  haled  before 
governors  and  kings  for  my  sake — it  will  be  a  testimony  to 

19  them  and  to  the  Gentiles.  Now,  when  they  bring  you  up 
for  trial,  do  not  trouble  yourselves  about  how  to  speak  or 
what  to  say;  what  you  are  to  say  will  come  to  you  at  the 

20  moment,  for  you  are  not  the  speakers,  it  is  the  Spirit  of 

21  your  Father  that  is  speaking  through  you.  Brother  will 
betray  brother  to  death,  the  father  will  betray  his  child, 
children  will  rise  against  their  parents  and  put  them  to 


16  S.  MATTHEW  X 

22  death,  and  you  will  be  hated  by  all  men  on  account  of  my 
name;  but  he  will  be  saved  who  holds  out  to  the  very  end. 

23  When  they  persecute  you  in  one  town,  flee  to  the  next; 
truly  I  tell  you,  you  will  not  have  covered  the  towns  of 
Israel  before  the  Son  of  man  arrives. 

24  A  scholar  is  not  above  his  teacher, 

nor  a  servant  above  his  lord; 

25  enough  for  the  scholar  to  fare  like  his  teacher, 

and  the  servant  like  his  lord. 
If  men  have  called  the  master  of  the  house  Beelzebul, 
how  much  more  will  they  miscall  his  servants! 

26  Fear  them  not:  — 

nothing  is  veiled  that  shall  not  be  revealed, 
or  hidden  that  shall  not  be  known; 

27  what  I  tell  you  in  the  dark,  you  must  utter  in  the  open, 

what  you  hear  in  a  whisper  you  must  proclaim  on 
the  housetop. 

28  Have  no  fear  of  those  who  kill  the  body  but  cannot  kill 

the  soul: 
rather  fear  Him  who  can  destroy  both  soul  and  body 
in  Gehenna. 

29  Are  not  two  sparrows  sold  for  a  farthing? 

Yet  not  one  of  them   will   fall   to   the   ground   unless 
your  Father  wills  it. 

30  The  very  hairs  on  your  head  are  all  numbered; 

31  fear  not,  then,  you  are  worth  far  more*  than  sparrows! 

32  Everyone  who  will  acknowledge  me  before  men, 

I  will  acknowledge  him  before  my  Father  in  heaven; 

33  and  whoever  will  disown  me  before  men, 

I  will  disown  him  before  my  Father  in  heaven. 

34  Do  not  imagine  I  have  come  to  bring  peace  on  earth; 

I  have  not  come  to  bring  peace  but  a  sword. 

35  I  have  come  to  set  a  man  against  his  father, 

a  daughter  against  her  mother, 

a  daughter-in-law  against  her  mother-in-law; 

36  yes,  a  man's  oion  household  ivill  be  his  enemies. 

37  He  who  loves  father  or  mother  more  than  me 

is  not  worthy  of  me; 
he  who  loves  son  or  daughter  more  than  me 
is  not  worthy  of  me: 

38  he  who  will  not  take  his  cross  and  follow  after  me 

is  not  worthy  of  me. 

39  He  who  has  found  his  life  will  lose  it, 

and  he  who  loses  his  life  for  my  sake  will  find  it. 

*  The  ttoWlou  of  the  text  is  either  a  corruption  of  ttoXX^  or,  as  Well- 
hausen  points  out,  a  mistranslation  of  the  Aramaic  equivalent  for 
that.     '  The  distinction  is  quahtative,  not  quantitative.' 


11 


S.  MATTHEW  XI  17 

40  He  who  receives  you  receives  me, 

and  he  who  receives  me  receives  Him  who  sent  me. 

41  He  who  receives  a  prophet  because  he  is  a  prophet, 

will  receive  a  prophet's  reward; 
he  who  receives  a  good  man  because  he  is  good, 
will  receive  a  good  man's  reward. 

42  And  whoever  gives  one  of  these  little  ones  even  a  cup  of 

cold  water  because  he  is  a  disciple, 
I  tell  you,  he  shall  not  lose  his  reward." 

After  finishing  these  instructions  to  his  twelve  dis- 
ciples, Jesus  removed  from  there  to  teach  and  preach 
among  their  towns. 

2  Now  when  John  heard  in  prison  what  the   dirist  was 

3  doing,  he  sent  his  disciples  to  ask  him,  "Are  you  the  Com- 

4  ing  One?  Or  are  we  to  look  out  for  someone  else?"  Jesus 
answered  them,  "Go  and  report  to  John  what  you  hear  and 

5  see:   the  blind  see,  the  lame  walk,  lepers  are  cleansed,  the 

6  deaf  hear,  and  the  dead  are  raised.*    And  blessed  is  he  who 

7  is  repelled  by  nothing  in  me!"  As  the  disciples  of  John 
went  away,  Jesus  proceeded  to  speak  to  the  crowds  about 
John : 

"What  did  you  go  out  to  the  desert  to  see? 
A  reed  swayed  by  the  wind? 

8  Come,  what  did  you  go  out  to  see? 

A  man  arrayed  in  soft  raiment? 

The  wearers  of  soft  raiment  are  in  royal  palaces. 

9  Come,  why  did  you  go  out? 

To  see  a  prophet? 

Yes,  I  tell  you,  and  far  more  than  a  prophet. 

10  This  is  he  of  whom  it  is  written, 

Here  I  send  my  messenger  before  your  face 
to  prepare  the  way  for  you. 

11  I  tell  you  truly,  no  one  has  arisen  among  the  sons  of 
women  who  is  greater  than  John  the  Baptist,  and  yet  the 

12  least  in  the  Realm  of  heaven  is  greater  than  he  is.  From 
the  days  of  John  the  Baptist  till  now  the  Realm  of  heaven 

13  suffers  violence,  and  the  violent  press  into  it.     For  all  the 

14  prophets  and  the  law  prophesied  of  it  until  John: — if  you 

15  care  to  believe  it,  he  is  the  Elijah  who  is  to  come.  He 
who  has  an  ear,  let  him  listen  to  this. 

16  But  to  what  shall  I  compare  this  generation?  It  is  like 
children  sitting  in  the  marketplace,  who  call  to  their  play- 
mates, 

17  'We  piped  to  you  and  you  would  not  dance, 

we  lamented  and  you  would  not  beat  your  breasts.' 
*  Omitting  kuI  irrcaxol  evayyeXi^ovrai,  which  seems  a  harmonistic  inter- 
polation from  Luke  vii.  22.     Matthew  never  uses  evayyeXl^eaOai. 


18  S.  MATTHEW  XII 

18  For  John  has  come  neither  eating  nor  drinking, 

and  men  say,  'He  has  a  devil'; 

19  the  Son  of  man  has  come  eating  and  drinking, 

and  men  say,  'Here  is  a  glutton  and  a  drunkard, 
a  friend  of  taxgatherers  tind  sinners!' 
Nevertheless,  Wisdom  is  vindicated  by  all  that  she  does." 

20  Then  he  proceeded  to  upbraid  the  towns  where  his  many 
miracles  had  been  performed,  because  they  would  not  re- 

21  pent.  "Woe  to  you,  Khorazin!  Woe  to  you,  Bethsaida! 
Had  the  miracles  performed  in  you  been  performed  in  Tyre 
and  Sidon,  they  would  have  repented  long  ago  in  sackcloth 

22  and  ashes.    I  tell  you  this,  it  will  be  more  bearable  for  Tyre 

23  and  Sidon  on  the  day  of  judgment  than  for  you.  And  you, 
O  Capharnahum!  Exalted  to  heaven?  No,  you  ivill  sink  to 
Hades! — for  if  the  miracles  performed  in  you  had  been  per- 
formed in  Sodom,  Sodom  would  have  lasted  to  this  day. 

24  I  tell  you,  it  will  be  more  bearable  for  Sodom  on  the  day 
of  judgment  than  for  you." 

25  At  that  time  Jesus  spoke  and  said,  "I  praise  thee.  Father, 
Lord  of  heaven  and  earth,  for  hiding  all  this  from  the  wise 

26  and  Iqarned  and  revealing  it  to  the  simpleminded;  yes, 
Father,  I  praise  thee  that  such  was  thy  chosen  purpose. 

27  All  has  been  handed  over  to  me  by  my  Father: 

and  no  one  knows  the  Son  except  the  Father — 
nor  does  anyone  know  the  Father  except  the  Son, 
and  he  to  whom  the  Son  chooses  to  reveal  him. 

28  Come  to  me,  all  who  are  labouring  and  burdened, 

and  I  will  refresh  you. 

29  Take  my  yoke  upon  you  and  learn  from  me, 

for  I  am  gentle  and  humble  in  heart, 
and  you  ivill  find  your  souls  refreshed; 

30  my  yoke  is  kindly  and  my  burden  light." 


"I  o  At  that  time  Jesus  walked  one  sabbath  through  the 
■I  ^  cornfields,    and    as    his    disciples    were    hungry    they 

2  started  to  pull  some  ears  of  corn  and  eat  them.  When  the 
Pharisees  noticed  it,  they  said  to  him,  "Look  at  your  dis- 
ciples, they  are  doing  what  is  not  allowed  on  the  sabbath." 

3  He  replied,  "Have  you  not  read  what  David  did  when  he 

4  and  his  men  were  hungry,  how  he  went  into  the  house  of 
God,  and  there  they  ate  the  loaves  of  the  Presence  which 
neither  he  nor  his  men  were  allowed  to  eat,  but  only  the 

5  priests?  Have  you  not  read  in  the  Law  that  the  priests  in 
the  temple  are  not  guilty  when  they  desecrate  the  sabbath? 

6  I   tell  you.  One  is  here  who   is   greater  than   the  temple. 

7  Besides,  if  you  had  known  what  this  meant,  I  care  for 
mercy  not  for  sacrifice,  you  would  not  have  condemned  men 


S.  MATTHEW  XII  19 

8  who  are  not  guilty.     For  the  Son  of  man  is  Lord  of  the 
sabbath." 

9  Then  he  moved  on  from  there  and  went  into  their  syn- 

10  agogue.  Now  a  man  with  a  withered  hand  was  there;  so 
in  order  to  get  a  charge  against  him  they  asked  him,  "Is 

11  it  right  to  heal  on  the  sabbath?"  He  said  to  them,  "Is  there 
a  man  of  you  with  one  sheep,  who  will  not  catch  hold  of  it 

12  and  lift  it  out  of  a  pit  on  the  sabbath,  if  it  falls  in?  And 
how  much  more  is  a  man  worth  than  a  sheep?    Thus  it  is 

13  right  to  do  a  kindness  on  the  sabbath."  Then  he  said  to 
the  man,  "Stretch  out  your  hand."    He  stretched  it  out,  and 

14  it  was  quite  restored,  as  sound  as  the  other.  So  the  Phari- 
sees withdrew  and   plotted  against  him,   to   destroy  him; 

15  but  as  Jesus  knew  of  it  he  retired  from  the  spot.     Many 

16  followed    him,    and    he    healed    them    all,    charging    them 

17  strictly  not  to  make  him  known — it  was  for  the  fulfilment 
of  what  had  been  said  by  the  prophet  Isaiah, 

18  Here  is  my  servant  whom  I  have  selected, 

my  Beloved  in  whom  my  soul  delights; 
I  will  invest  him  with  my  Spirit, 

and  he  will  proclaim  religion  to  the  Gentiles. 

19  He  will  not  wrangle  or  shout, 

no  one  will  hear  his  voice  in  the  streets. 

20  He  will  not  break  the  bruised  reed, 

he  ivill  not  put  out  the  smouldering  flax, 
till  he  carries  religion  to  victory: 

21  and  the  Gentiles  will  hope  in  his  name. 

22  Then  a  blind  and  dumb  demoniac  was  brought  to  him, 
and  he  healed  him,  so  that  the  dumb  man  spoke  and  saw. 

23  And  all  the  crowds  were  amazed;  they  said,  "Can  this  be 

24  the  Son  of  David?"  But  when  the  Pharisees  heard  of  it 
they  said,  "This  fellow  only  casts  out  daemons  by  Beelzebul 

25  the  prince  of  daemons."  As  Jesus  knew  what  they  were 
thinking,  he  said  to  them, 

"Any  realm  divided  against  itself  comes  to  ruin, 

any   city   or   house   divided   against   itself   will   never 
stand; 

26  and  if  Satan  casts  out  Satan,  he  is  divided  against  him- 

self; 
how  then  can  his  realm  stand? 

27  Besides,  if  I  cast  out  daemons  by  Beelzebul, 

by  whom  do  your  sons  cast  them  out? 
Thus  they  will  be  your  judges. 

28  But  if  I  cast  out  daemons  by  the  Spirit  of  God, 
then  the  Reign  of  God  has  reached  you  already. 

29  Why,  how  can  anyone  enter  the  strong  man's  house  and 
plunder  his  goods,  unless  he  first  of  all  binds  the  strong 
man?     Then  he  can  plunder  his  house. 


20  S.  MATTHEW  XII 

30  He  who  is  not  with  me  is  against  me, 

and  he  who  does  not  gather  with  me  scatters. 

31  I  tell  you  therefore,  men  will  be  forgiven  any  sin  and 

blasphemy, 
but  they  will  not  be  forgiven  for  blaspheming  the  Spirit. 

32  Whoever  says  a  word  against  the  Son  of  man  will  be  for- 

given, 
but  whoever  speaks  against  the  holy  Spirit  will  never 

be  forgiven, 
neither  in  this  world  nor  in  the  world  to  come. 

33  Either  make  the  tree  good  and  its  fruit  good, 

or  make  the  tree  rotten  and  its  fruit  rotten; 
for  the  tree  is  known  by  its  fruit. 

34  You  brood  of  vipers,  how  can  you  speak  good  when  you 

are  evil? 
For  the  mouth  utters  what  the  heart  is  full  of. 

35  The  good  man  brings  good  out  of  his  good  store, 

and  the  evil  man  brings  evil  out  of  his  store  of  evil. 

36  I  tell  you,  men  will  have  to  account  on  the  day  of  judg- 
ment for  every  light  word  they  utter; 

37  for  by  your  words  you  will  be  acquitted, 
and  by  your  words  you  will  be  condemned." 

38  Then    some    of    the    scribes    and    Pharisees    said    to    him, 

39  "Teacher,  we  would  like  to  have  some  Sign  from  you."    He 
replied  to  them, 

"It    is    an    evil    and    disloyal    generation    that    craves    a 
Sign, 
but  no  Sign  will  be  given  to  it  except  the  Sign  of  the 
prophet  Jonah; 

40  for  as  Jonah  was  three  days  and  three  nights  in  the  belly 

of  the  whale, 
so  the  Son  of  man  will  be  three  days  and  three  nights 
in  the  heart  of  the  earth. 

41  The  men  of  Ninive  will  rise  at  the  judgment  with  this 

generation  and  condemn  it; 
for  when  Jonah  preached  they  did  repent, 
and  here  is  One  greater  than  Jonah. 

42  The  queen  of  the  South  will  rise  at  the  judgment  with 

this  generation  and  condemn  it; 
for  she  came  from  the  ends  of  the  earth  to  listen  to  the 
wisdom  of  Solomon, 
and  here  is  One  greater  than  Solomon. 

43  When  an  unclean  spirit  leaves  a  man,  it  roams  through 

44  dry  places  in  search  of  refreshment  and  finds  none.     Then 
It  says,  'I  will  go  back  to  the  house  I  left,'  and  when  it 

Ar  Sl°^^^   ^^  ^"^^  ^^^  ^^^"'^^  vacant,  clean,  and  all   in   order. 

45  Ihen   it  goes  off  to   fetch  seven   other  spirits  worse  than 
Itself;  they  go  in  and  dwell  there,  and  the  last  state  of  that 


S.  MATTHEW  XIII  21 

man  is  worse  than  the  first.    This  is  how  it  will  be  with  the 
present  evil  generation." 
46      He  was  still  speaking  to  the  crowds  when  his  mother  and 
brothers  came  and  stood  outside;  they  wanted  to  speak  to 

48  him.*     But  he  replied  to  the  man  who  told  him  this,  "Who 

49  is  my  mother?  and  who  are  my  brothers?"     Stretching  out 
his  hand  towards  his  disciples  he  said,  "Here  are  my  mother 

50  and  my  brothers!     Whoever  does  the  will  of  my  Father  in 
heaven,  that  is  my  brother  and  sister  and  mother." 


1  O  That  same  day  Jesus  went  out  of  the  house  and  seated 

2  1  O  himself  by  the  seaside ;  but,  as  great  crowds  gathered 
to  him,  he  entered  a  boat  and  sat  down,  while  all  the  crowd 

3  stood  on  the  beach.     He  spoke  at  some  length  to  them  in 

4  parables,  saying:    "A  sower  went  out  to   sow,   and   as  he 
sowed  some  seeds  fell  on  the  road  and  the  birds  came  and 

5  ate  them  up.    Some  other  seeds  fell  on  stony  soil  where  they 
had  not  much  earth,  and  shot  up  at  once  because  they  had 

6  no  depth  of  soil;  but  when  the  sun  rose  they  got  scorched 

7  and  withered  away  because  they  had  no  root.     Some  other 
seeds   fell   among  thorns,   and   the  thorns   sprang  up   and 

8  choked  them.     Som.e  other  seeds  fell  on  good  soil  and  bore 
a  crop,  some  a  hundredfold,  some  sixty,  and  some  thirtyfcld. 

9  He  who  has  an  ear,  let  him  listen  to  this." 

10  Then  the  disciples  came  up  and  said  to  him,  "Why  do  you 

11  speak  in  parables?"  He  replied,  "Because  it  is  granted  you 
to  understand  the  open  secrets  of  the  Realm  of  heaven,  but 
it  is  not  granted  to  these  people. 

12  For  he  who  has,  to  him  shall  more  be  given  and  richly 

given, 
but  whoever  has  not,  from  him  shall  be  taken  even  what 
he  has. 

13  This  is  why  I  speak  to  them  in  parables,  because  for  all 
their  seeing  they  do  not  see  and  for  all  their  hearing  they 

14  do  not  hear  or  understand.  In  their  case  the  prophecy  of 
Isaiah  is  being  fulfilled: 

You  will  hear  and  hear  but  never  understand, 
you  ivill  see  and  see  but  never  perceive. 

15  For  the  heart  of  this  people  is  obtuse, 

their  ears  are  heavy  of  hearing, 

their  eyes  they  have  closed, 

lest  they  see  with  their  eyes  and  hear  with  their  ears, 

*  Ver.  47,  which  is  rightly  omitted  by  ^5*BL,  the  Old  Latin  and  Syriac 
versions,  etc.,  has  been  interpolated  by  an  early  copyist  who  wished 
to  prepare  for  ver.  48  by  using  the  material  of  Mark  iii.  32.  It  runs 
thus:  "  And  a  man  said  to  him,  '  Here  are  your  mother  and  brothers 
standing  outside  and  wanting  to  speak  to  you.'  " 


22  S.  MATTHEW  XIII 

lest  they  understand  with  their  heart  and  turn  agaiUi 
and  I  cure  them. 

16  But  blessed  are  your  eyes  for  they  see, 

and  your  ears,  for  they  hear! 

17  I  tell  you  truly,  many  prophets  and  good  men  have  longed 

to  see  what  you  see, 
but  they  have  not  seen  it; 
and  to  hear  what  you  hear, 
but  they  have  not  heard  it. 
}|       Now,  listen  to  the  parable  of  the  sower.     When  anyone 
hears  the  word  of  the  Realm  and  does  not  understand  it, 
the  evil  one  comes  and  snatches  away  what  has  been  sown 
in  his  heart;   that  is  the  man  who  is  sown  'on  the  road.' 

20  As  for  him  who  is  sown  'on  stony  soil,'  that  is  the  man  who 
hears  the  word  and  accepts  it  at  once  with  enthusiasm; 

21  he  has  no  root  in  himself,  he  does  not  last,  but  when  the 
word  brings  trouble  or  persecution  he  is  at  once  repelled. 

22  As  for  him  who  is  sown  'among  thorns,'  that  is  the  man 
who  listens  to  the  word,  but  tlie  worry  of  the  world  and  the 
delight   of  being   rich   choke   the   word;    so   it   proves   un- 

23  fruitful.  As  for  him  who  is  sown  'on  good  soil,'  that  is  the 
man  who  hears  the  word  and  understands  it;  he  bears  fruit, 
producing  now  a  hundredfold,  now  sixty,  and  now  thirty- 
fold." 

24  He  put  another  parable  before  them.  "The  Realm  of 
heaven,"  he  said,  "is  like  a  man  who  sowed  good  seed  in 

25  his  field,  but  while  men  slept  his  enemy  came  and  resowed 

26  weeds  among  the  wheat  and  then  went  away.  When  the 
blade  sprouted  and  formed  the  kernel,  then  the  weeds  ap- 

27  peared  as  well.  So  the  servants  of  the  owner  went  to  him 
and  said,  'Did  you  not  sow  good  seed  in  your  field,  sir? 

28  How  then  does  it  contain  weeds?'  He  said  to  them,  'An 
enemy  has  done  this.'     The  servants  said  to  him,  'Then 

29  would  you  like  us  to  go  and  gather  them?'  'No,'  he  said, 
'for  you  might  root  up  the  wheat  when  you  were  gathering 

30  the  weeds.  Let  them  both  grow  side  by  side  till  harvest; 
and  at  harvest-time  I  will  tell  the  reapers  to  gather  the 
weeds  first  and  tie  them  in  bundles  to  be  burnt,  but  to  col- 
lect the  wheat  in  my  granary.'  " 

31  He  put  another  parable  before  them.  "The  Realm  of 
heaven,"  he  said,  "is  like  a  grain  of  mustard-seed  which  a 

32  man  takes  and  sows  in  his  field.  It  is  less  than  any  seed 
on  earth,  but  when  it  grows  up  it  is  larger  than  any  plant, 
it  becomes  a  tree,  so  large  that  the  wild  hirds  come  and 
roost  in  its  branches." 

33  He  told  them  another  parable.  "The  Realm  of  heaven," 
he  said,  "is  like  dough  which  a  woman  took  and  buried  in 
three  pecks  of  fiour,  till  all  of  it  was  leavened." 


S.  MATTHEW  XIII  23 

34  Jesus  said  all  this  to  the  crowds  in  parables;   he  never 

35  spoke  to  them  except  in  a  parable — to  fulfil  what  had  been 
said  by  the  prophet, 

/  will  open  my  mouth  in  parables, 

I  will  speak  out  ivhat  has  been  hidden  since  the  founda- 
tion of  the  ivorld. 

36  Then  he  left  the  crowds  and  went  indoors.  And  his  dis- 
ciples came  up  to  him  saying,  "Explain  to  us  the  parable  of 

37  the  weeds  in  the  field."     So  he  replied,  "He  who  sows  the 

38  good  seed  is  the  Son  of  man;  the  field  is  the  world;  the  good 
seed  means  the  sons  of  the  Realm;  the  weeds  are  the  sons 

39  of  the  evil  one;  the  enemy  who  sowed  them  is  the  devil; 
the  harvest  is  the  end  of  the  world,  and  the  reapers  are 

40  angels.    Well  then,  just  as  the  weeds  are  gathered  and  burnt 

41  in  the  fire,  so  will  it  be  at  the  end  of  the  world;  the  Son 
of  man  will  despatch  his  angels,  and  they  will  gather  out  of 
his  Realm  all  who  are  hindrances  and  who  practise  iniquity, 

42  and  throw  them  into  the  furnace  of  fire;    there  men  will 

43  wail  and  gnash  their  teeth.  Then  the  just  will  shine  like 
the  sun  in  the  Realm  of  their  Father.  He  who  has  an  ear, 
let  him  listen  to  this. 

44  The  Realm  of  heaven  is  like  treasure  hidden  in  a  field; 
the  man  who  finds  it  hides  it  and  in  his  delight  goes  and 
sells  all  he  possesses  and  buys  that  field. 

45  Again,  the  Realm  of  heaven  is  like  a  trader  in  search  of 

46  fine  pearls;  when  he  finds  a  single  pearl  of  high  price,  he 
is  off  to  sell  all  he  possesses  and  buy  it. 

47  Again,   the  Realm   of  heaven   is   like   5,   net   which  was 

48  thrown  into  the  sea  and  collected  fish  of  every  sort.  When 
it  was  full,  they  dragged  it  to  the  beach  and  sitting  down 
they  gathered  the  good  fish  into  vessels  but  flung  away  the 

49  bad.    So  will  it  be  at  the  end  of  the  world.    The  angels  will 

50  go  out  and  separate  the  evil  from  among  the  just  and  fling 
them  into  the  furnace  of  fire;  there  men  will  wail  and  gnash 
their  teeth. 

51  Have  you  understood  all  this?"    They  said  to  him,  "Yes." 

52  So  he  said  to  them,  "Well  then,  every  scribe  who  has  be- 
come a  disciple  of  the  Realm  of  heaven  is  like  a  householder 
who  produces  what  is  new  and  what  is  old  from  his  stores." 

53  Now  when  Jesus  had  finished  these  parables  he  set  out 

54  from  there,  and  went  to  his  native  place,  where  he  taught 
the  people  in  the  synagogue  till  they  were  astounded. 
They    said,    "Where    did    he    get    this    wisdom    and    these 

55  miraculous  powers?  Is  this  not  the  son  of  the  joiner?  Is 
not  his  mother  called  Mary,  and  his  brothers  James  and 

56  Joseph  and  Simon  and  Judas?     Are  not  his  sisters  settled 

57  here  among  us?  Then  where  has  he  got  all  this?"  So 
they  were  repelled  by  him.     But  Jesus  said  to  them,  "A 


24  S.  MATTHEW  XIV 

prophet  never   goes  without  honour   except   in  his  native 
58  place  and  in  his  home."    There  he  could  not  do  many  mir- 
acles owing  to  their  lack  of  faith. 

UAt  that  time  Herod  the  tetrarch  heard  about  the  fame 
of  Jesus.  And  he  said  to  his  servants,  "This  is  John 
the  Baptist;  he  has  risen  from  the  dead.  That  is  why- 
miraculous  powers  are  working  through  him." 

3  For  Herod  had  arrested  John  and  bound  him  and  put  him 
in  prison  on  account  of  Herodias  the  wife  of  his  brother 

4  Philip,  since  John  had  told  him,  "You  have  no  right  to 

5  her."    He  was  anxious  to  kill  him  but  he  was  afraid  of  the 

6  people,  for  they  held  John  to  be  a  prophet.     However,  on 
Herod's  birthday,  the  daughter  of  Herodias  danced  in  public 

7  to  the  delight  of  Herod;   whereupon  he  promised  with  an 

8  oath  to  give  her  whatever  she  wanted.     And  she,  at  the 
instigation  of  her  mother,  said,  "Give  me  John  the  Baptist's 

9  head  this  moment  on  a  dish."     The  king  was  sorry,  but 
for  the  sake  of  his  oath  and  his  guests  he  ordered  it  to  be 

10  given  her;   he  sent  and  had  John  beheaded  in  the  prison, 

11  his  head  was  brought  on  a  dish  and  given  to  the  girl,  and 

12  she-  took  it  to  her  mother.  His  disciples  came  and  removed 
the  corpse  and  buried  him;  then  they  went  and  reported  it 
to  Jesus. 

13  When  Jesus  heard  it  he  withdrew  by  boat  to  a  desert 
place  in  private;  but  the  crowds  heard  of  it  and  followed 

14  him  on  foot  from  the  towns.  So  when  he  disembarked  he 
saw  a  large  crowd,  and  out  of  pity  for  them  he  healed  their 

15  sick  folk.  When  evening  fell,  the  disciples  came  up  to  him 
and  said,  "It  is  a  desert  place  and  the  day  is  now  gone; 
send  off  the  crowds  to  buy  food  for  themselves  in  the  vil- 

16  lages."    Jesus  said  to  them,  "They  do  not  need  to  go  away; 

17  give  them  some  food  yourselves."     They  said,   "We   have 

18  only  five  loaves  with  us  and  two  fish."     He  said,  "Bring 

19  them  here  to  me."  Then  he  ordered  the  crowds  to  recline 
on  the  grass,  and  after  taking  the  five  loaves  and  the  two 
fish  he  looked  up  to  heaven,  blessed  them,  and  after  break- 
ing the  loaves  handed  them  to  the  disciples,  and  the  dis- 

20  ciples  handed  them  to  the  crowds.  They  all  ate  and  had 
enough;  besides,  they  picked  up  the  fragments  left  over  and 

21  filled  twelve  baskets  with  them.  The  men  who  ate  num- 
bered about  five  thousand,  apart  from  the  women  and  chil- 
dren. 

22  Then  he  made  the  disciples  embark  in  the  boat  and  cross 
before  him  to  the  other  side,  while  he  dismissed  the  crowds; 

23  after  he  had  dismissed  the  crowds  he  went  up  the  hill  by 

24  himself  to  pray.  When  evening  came  he  was  there  alone,  but 
the  boat  was  now  in  the  middle  of  the  sea,  buffeted  by  the 


S.  MATTHEW  XV  26 

25  waves  (for  the  wind  was  against  them) .     In  the  fourth  watch 

26  of  the  night  he  went  to  them,  walking  on  the  sea,  but  when 
the  disciples  saw  him  walking  on  the  sea  they  were  terri- 

27  tied;  "It  is  a  ghost,"  they  said  and  shrieked  for  fear.  Then 
Jesus  spoke  to  them  at  once;   "Courage,"  he  said,  "it  is  I, 

28  have  no  fear."  Peter  answered  him,  "Lord,  if  it  is  really  you, 

29  order  me  to  come  to  you  on  the  water."  He  said,  "Come." 
Then  Peter  got  out  of  the  boat  and  walked  over  the  water 

30  on  his  way  to  Jesus;  but  when  he  saw  the  strength  of  the 
wind  he  was  afraid  and  began  to  sink.    "Lord,"  he  shouted, 

31  save  me."  Jesus  at  once  stretched  his  hand  out  and  caught 
him,   saying,    "How    little    you    trust    me!      Why    did    you 

32  doubt?"     When  they  got  into  the  boat  the  wind  dropped, 

33  and  the  men  in  the  boat  worshipped  him,  saying,  "You  are 
certainly  God's  Son." 

II  On  crossing  over  they  came  to  land  at  Gennesaret.  The 
men  of  that  place  recognized  him  and  sent  all  over  the 
surrounding    country,    bringing    him    all    who    were    ill 

36  and  begging  him  to  let  them  touch  the  mere  tassel  of  his 
robe — and  all  who  touched  it  got  perfectly  well. 

1  p^  Then  Pharisees  and  scribes  from  Jerusalem  came  to 

2  1  «J  Jesus,  saying,  "Why  do  your  disciples  transgress  the 
tradition   of  the  elders?     They  do  not  wash   their  hands 

3  when  they  take  their  food."    He  replied,  "And  why  do  you 

4  transgress  the  command  of  God  with  your  traditions?  God 
enjoined,  Honour  your  father  and  mother,   and.  He   toho 

5  curses  his  father  or  mother  is  to  suffer  death.  But  you 
say,  whoever  tells  his  father  or  mother,  'This  money  might 
have   been    at   your    service   but   it   is    dedicated    to   God,* 

6  need  not  honour  his  father  or  mother.    So  you  have  repealed 

7  the  law  of  God  to  suit  your  own  tradition.  You  hypo- 
crites! Isaiah  made  a  grand  prophecy  about  you  when  he 
said, 

8  This  people  honours  me  with  their  lips, 
but  their  heart  is  far  away  from  me: 

9  vain  is  their  worship  of  me, 

for  the  doctrines  they  teach  are  but  human  precepts." 

10  Then  he  called  the  crowd  and  said  to  them,  "Listen,  under- 
stand this: 

11  it  is  not  what  enters  a  man's  mouth  that  defiles  him, 
what  defiles  a  man  is  what  comes  out  of  his  mouth." 

12  Then  the  disciples  came  up  and  said  to  him,  "Do  you  know 
that  the  Pharisees  have  taken  offence  at  what  they  hear 

13  you  say?"    He  replied,  "Any  plant  that  my  heavenly  Father 

14  has  not  planted  will  be  rooted  up.  Let  them  alone;  they 
are  blind  guides  of  the  blind,  and  if  one  blind  man  leads 

15  another,  both  of  them  will  fall  into  a  pit."    Peter  answered. 


26  S.  MATTHEW  XV 

16  Explain  this  parable  to  us  at  anyrate."     He  said,  "And  are 

17  you  totally  ignorant?  Do  you  not  see  how  all  that  enters 
the  mouth  passes  into  the  belly  and   is  then  thrown  out 

18  into  the  drain,  while  what  comes  out  of  the  mouth  comes 

19  from  the  heart — and  that  is  what  defiles  a  man.  For  out 
of  the  heart  come  evil   designs,  murder,   adultery,   sexual 

20  vice,  stealing,  false  witness,  and  slander.  That  is  what 
defiles  a  man;  a  man  is  not  defiled  by  eating  with  hands 
unwashed!" 

21  Going  away  from  there  Jesus  withdrew  to  the  district  of 

22  Tyre  and  Sidon.  And  a  woman  of  Canaan  came  out  of  these 
parts  and  wailed,  "Have  pity  on  me,  Lord,  O.  Son  of  David! 

23  My  daughter  is  cruelly  possessed  by  a  daemon."  But  he 
made  no  answer  to  her.  Then  his  disciples  came  up  and 
pressed  him,  saying,  "Send  her  away,  she  is  wailing  behind 

24  us."    He  replied,  "It  was  only  to  the  lost  sheep  of  the  house 

25  of  Israel  that  I  was  sent."     But  she  came  and  knelt  before 

26  him,  saying,  "Lord,  do  help  me."  He  replied,  "It  is  not 
fair  to  take  the  children's  bread  and  throw  it  to  the  dogs." 

27  "No,  sir,"  she  said,  "but  even  the  dogs  eat  the  crumbs  that 

28  fall  from  their  master's  table."  At  that  Jesus  replied,  "O 
woman,  you  have  great  faith;  your  prayer  is  granted  as  you 
wish."    And  from  that  hour  her  daughter  was  cured. 

29  Then  Jesus  removed  from  that  country  and  went  along 
the  sea  of  Galilee;  he  went  up  the  hillside  and  sat  there. 

30  And  large  crowds  came  to  him  bringing  the  lame,  and  the 
blind,  the  dumb,  the  maimed,  and  many  others;   they  laid 

31  them  at  his  feet,  and  he  healed  them.  This  made  the  crowd 
wonder,  to  see  dumb  people  speaking,*  the  lame  walking, 

32  and  the  blind  seeing.  Then  Jesus  called  his  disciples  and 
said,  "I  am  sorry  for  the  crowd;  they  have  been  three  days 
with  me  now,  and  they  have  nothing  to  eat.  I  will  not 
send  them  away  starving,  in  case  they  faint  on  the  road." 

33  The  disciples  said   to  him,  "Where   are  we  to  get  loaves 

34  enough  in  a  desert  to  satisfy  such  a  crowd?"  Jesus  said  to 
them,  "How  many  loaves  have  you  got?"    They  said,  "Seven, 

35  and  some  little  fish."    So  he  ordered  the  crowd  to  recline  on 

36  the  ground.  He  took  the  seven  loaves  and  the  fish  and  after 
giving  thanks  he  broke  them  and  gave  thfm  to  the  disciples, 

37  and  the  disciples  to  the  crowds.  So  the  people  all  ate  and 
were  satisfied,  and  they  picked  up  the  fragments  left  over 

38  and  filled  seven  large  baskets  with  them.  The  men  who  ate 
numbered  four  thousand,  apart  from  the  children  and  the 

39  women.  Then  he  sent  the  crowd  away,  got  into  the  boat  and 
went  to  the  territory  of  Magadan. 

*  Leaving  out  the  phrase  Kv\\oi>s  vyiels  ^nth  {<,  the  Latin  version, 
the  Old  Syriac,  Origen,  etc.  Its  insertion  for  harmonistic  reasons  is 
more  likely  than  its  omission. 


S.  MATTHEW  XVI  27 

1  O  Now  the  Pharisees  and   Sadducees  came  up  and,  in 
l  v)  order  to  tempt  him,  asked  him  ta  show  them  a  Sign 
2  from  heaven.    He  replied, 

4  "It  is  an  evil  and  disloyal  generation  that  craves  a  Sign, 

and   no   Sign   shall  be  given   to   it  except   the    Sign   of 
Jonah."* 
Then  he  left  them  and  went  away. 

5  When  the  disciples  reached  the  opposite  side,  they  found 

6  they  had  forgotten  to  bring  any  bread.    Jesus  said  to  them, 
"See  and  beware  of  the  leaven  of  the  Pharisees  and  Sad- 

7  ducees."    They  argued  among  themselves,  "But  we  have  not 

8  brought  any  bread!"    When  Jesus  noted  this  he  said,  "How 
little  trust  you  have  in  me!     Why  all  this  talk,  because  you 

9  have  brought  no  bread?     Do  you  not  understand  even  yet? 
Do  you  not  remember  the  five  loaves  of  the  five  thousand 

10  and  how  many  baskets  you  took  up?  And  the  seven  loaves 
of  the  four  thousand  and  how  many  large  baskets  you  took 

11  up?  Why  do  you  not  see  that  I  was  not  speaking  to  you 
about  bread?     No,  beware  of  the  leaven  of  the  Pharisees 

12  and  Sadducees."  Then  they  realized  that  what  he  told  them 
to  beware  of  was  not  leavenf  but  the  teaching  of  the 
Pharisees  and  Sadducees. 

13  Now  when  Jesus  came  to  the  district  of  Caesarea 
Philippi  he  asked  his  disciples,  "Who  do  people  say  the 

14  Son  of  man  is?"  They  told  him,  "Some  say  John  the  Bap- 
tist, others  Elijah,  others  Jeremiah  or  one  of  the  prophets." 

J^  He  said  to  them,  "And  who  do  you  say  I  am?"  So  Simon 
Peter  replied,  "You  are  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living 

17  God."  Jesus  answered  him,  "You  are  a  blessed  man,  Simon 
Bar-jona,  for  it  was  my  Father  in  heaven,  not  flesh  and 

18  blood,  that  revealed  this  to  you.  Now  I  tell  you,  Peter  is 
your  namet  and  on  this  rock  I  will  build  my  church;   the 

19  powers  of  Hades  shall  not  succeed  against  it.  I  will  give 
you  the  keys  of  the  Realm  of  heaven; 

*  Three  uncials  (C  D  W)  of  the  fifth  century  and  several  versions, 
including  the  Latin  and  the  Syriac  (Vulgate),  together  "w^th  the  Diates- 
saron,  insert  at  the  beginning  of  this  answer  the  following: 

"  When  evening  comes,  you  say,  '  It  will  be  fine,'  for  the  sky  is  red; 

in  the  morning  you  say,  *  It  will  be  stormy  to-day,'  for  the  sky 

is  red  and  cloudy.     You  know  how  to  distinguish  the  look  of 

the  sky,  but  you  cannot  read  the  signs  of  the  times." 

The  majority  of  the  uncials,  with  the  Old  Syriac  and  Origen,  rightly 

omit  the  passage  as  irrelevant  to  the  original  text. 

t  Omitting  rwv  Aprcop  after  ^/xtjs  with  strong  support  from  the  Old 
Latin  and  Syriac  versions. 

t  EngHsh  fails  to  bring  out  the  play  on  the  Greek  word  for  "  rock." 
The  French  version  reproduces  it  :  "  Et  moi  je  te  dis  aussi  que  tu  es  le 
Pierre,  et  sur  cette  pierre  je  batirai  mon  eglise." 


28  S.   MATTHEW  XVII 

whatevei    you    prohibit   on  earth   will  be   prohibited   in 

heaven, 
and  whatever  you  permit  on  earth  will  be  permitted  in 

heaven." 

20  Then  he  forbade  the  disciples  to  tell  anyone  he  was  the 
Christ. 

21  From  that  time  Jesus  began  to  show  his  disciples  that  he 
had  to  leave  for  Jerusalem  and  endure  great  suffering  at 
the  hands  of  the  elders  and  high  priests  and  scribes,  and 

22  be  killed  and  raised  on  the  third  day.  Peter  took  him  and 
began  to  reprove  him  for  it;   "God  forbid.  Lord,"  he  said, 

23  "This  must  not  be."  But  he  turned  and  said  to  Peter,  "Get 
behind  me,  you  Satan!    You  are  a  hindrance  to  me!    Your 

24  outlook  is  not  God's  but  man's."  Then  Jesus  said  to  his 
disciples,  "If  anyone  wishes  to  come  after  me,  let  him  deny 
himself,  take  up  his  cross,  and  so  follow  me; 

25  for  whoever  wants  to  save  his  life  will  lose  it, 
and  whoever  loses  his  life  for  my  sake  will  find  it. 

26  What  profit  will  it  be  if  a  man  gains  the  whole  world  and 
forfeits  his  own  soul?    What  will  a  man  offer  as  an  equiva- 

27  lent  for  his  soul?  For  the  Son  of  man  is  coming  in  the 
glory   of   his   Father   with   his   angels,    and   then   he   will 

28  reward  everyone  for  what  he  has  done.  I  tell  you  truly, 
there  are  some  of  those  standing  here  who  will  not  taste 
death  till  they  see  the  Son  of  man  coming  himself  to  reign." 

"1  fy  Six  days  afterwards  Jesus  took  Peter,  James  and  his 
1  /    brother  John,  and  led  them  up  a  high  hill  by  them- 

2  selves;  in  their  presence  he  was  transfigured,  his  face 
shone  like  the  sun,  and  his  clothes  turned  white  as  light. 

3  There  appeared  to  them  Moses  and  Elijah,  who  conversed 

4  with  Jesus.  So  Peter  addressed  Jesus  and  said,  "Lord,  it 
is  a  good  thing  we  are  here;  if  you  like,  I  will  put  up  three 
tents  here,  one  for  you,  one  for  Moses,  and  one  for  Elijah." 

5  He  was  still  speaking  when  a  bright  cloud  overshadowed 
them,  and  from  the  cloud  a  voice  said, 

"This  is  my  Son,  the  Beloved, 
in  him  is  my  delight: 
listen  to  him." 

6  When  the  disciples  heard  the  voice  they  fell  on  their  faces 

7  in  terror;  but  Jesus  came  forward  and  touched  them,  say- 

8  ing,  "Rise,  have  no  fear."    And  on  raising  their  eyes  they 

9  saw  no  one  except  Jesus  all  alone.  As  they  went  down  the 
hill  Jesus  ordered  them,  "Tell  this  vision  to  nobody  until 

10  the  Son  of  man  is  raised  from  the  dead."  The  disciples  in- 
quired of  him,  "Then  why  do  the  scribes  say  that  Elijah 

11  has    to    come    first?"      He    replied,    "Elijah    to    come    and 

12  restore   all    things?     Nay,    I   tell   you    Elijah   has   already 


S.  MATTHEW  XVIII  29 

come,  but  they  have  not  recognized  him — they  have  worked 
their  will  on  him.    And  the  Son  of  man  will  suffer  at  their 

13  hands  in  the  same  way."  Then  the  disciples  realized  he 
was  speaking  to  them  about  John  the  Baptist. 

14  When  they  reached  the  crowd,  a  man  came  up  and  knelt 

15  to  him.  "Ah,  sir,"  he  said,  "have  pity  on  my  son;  he  is  an 
epileptic  and  he  suffers  cruelly,  he  often  falls  into  tt<i  fire 

16  and  often  into  the  water.    I  brought  him  to  your  disciples, 

17  but  they  could  not  heal  him."  Jesus  answered,  "0  faithless 
and  perverse  generation,  how  long  must  I  still  be  with 
you?    How  long  have  I  to  bear  with  you?    Bring  him  here 

18  to  me."    So  Jesus  checked  the  daemon  and  it  came  out  of 

19  him,  and  from  that  hour  the  boy  was  healed.  Then  the 
disciples  came  to  Jesus  in  private  and  said,  "Why  could 

20  we  not  cast  it  out?"  He  said  to  them,  "Because  you  have 
so  little  faith.  I  tell  you  truly,  if  you  had  faith  the  size 
of  a  grain  of  mustard-seed,  you  could  say  to  this  hill, 
'Move  from  here  to  there,'  and  remove  it  would;  nothing 
would  be  impossible  for  you." 

22  When  his  adherents  mustered  in  Galilee  Jesus  told  them, 
"The  Son  of  man  is  to  be  betrayed  into  the  hands  of  men, 

23  they  will  kill  him,  but  on  the  third  day  he  will  be  raised." 
They  were  greatly  distressed  at  this. 

24  When  they  reached  Capharnahum,  the  collectors  of  the 
temple-tax  came  and  asked  Peter,  "Does  your  teacher  not 

25  pay  the  temple-tax?"  He  said,  "Yes."  But  when  he  went 
indoors  Jesus  spoke  first  ;>  "Tell  me,  Simon,"  he  said,  "from 
whom   do  earthly  kings   collect  customs  or  taxes?     Is  it 

26  from  their  own  people  or  from  aliens?"  "From  aliens," 
he  said.    Then  Jesus  said  to  him,  "So  their  own  people  are 

27  exempt.  However,  not  to  give  any  offence  to  them,  go  to 
the  sea,  throw  a  hook  in,  and  take  the  first  fish  you  bring 
up.  Open  its  mouth  and  you  will  find  a  five-shilling  piece; 
take  that  and  give  it  to  them  for  me  and  for  yourself." 

1  Q  At  that  hour  the   disciples  came  and   asked  Jesus, 

2  1  O  "Who  is  greatest  in  the  Realm  of  heaven?"     So  he 

3  called  a  child,  set  it  among  them,  and  said,  "I  tell  you 
truly,  unless  you  turn  and  become  like  children,  you  will 

4  never  get  into  the  Realm  of  heaven  at  all.  Whoever 
humbles  himself  like  this  child,  he  is  the  greatest  in  the 

5  Realm  of  heaven;  and  whoever  receives  a  little  child  like 

6  this  for  my  sake,  receives  me.  But  whoever  is  a  hindrance 
to  one  of  these  little  ones  who  believe  in  me,  better  for 
him  to  have  a  great  mill-stone  hang  round  his  neck  and 

7  be  sunk  in  the  deep  sea.  Woe  to  the  world  for  hindrances! 
Hindrances  have  to  come,  but — woe  to  the  man  by  whom 
the  hindrance  does  come! 


30  S.  MATTHEW  XVIII 

8  If  your  hand  or  your  foot  is  a  hindrance  to  you,  cut  it 

off  and  throw  it  away; 
better  be  maimed  or  crippled  and  get  into  Life, 

than  keep  both  feet  or  hands  and  be  thrown  into  the 
everlasting  fire. 

9  If  your  eye  is  a  hindrance  to  you,  tear  it  out  and  throw 

it  away; 
better  get  into  Life  with  one  eye 

than  keep  your  two  eyes  and  be  thrown  into  the  fire 
of  Gehenna. 
10      See  that  you  do  not  despise  one  of  these  little  ones;  for 
I  tell  you,  their  angels  in  heaven  always  look  on  the  face 
of  my  Father  in  heaven. 

12  Tell  me,  if  a  man  has  a  hundred  sheep  and  one  of  them 
strays,  will  he  not  leave  the  ninety-nine  sheep  on  the  hills 

13  and  go  in  search  of  the  one  that  has  strayed?  And  if  he 
happens  to  find  it,  I  tell  you  he  rejoices  over  it  more  than 

14  over  the  ninety-nine  that  never  went  astray.  So  it  is  not 
the  will  of  your  Fathier  in  heaven  that  a  single  one  of  these 
little  ones  should  be  lost. 

15  If  your  brother  sins  [against  you],  go  and  reprove  him,  as 
between  you  and  him  alone.     If  he  listens  to  you,  then  you 

16  have  won  your  brother  over;  but  if  he  will  not  listen,  take 
one  or  two  others  along  with  you,  so  that  every  case  may 
&e  decided  on  the  evidence  of  two  or  of  three  witnesses. 

17  If  he  refuses  to  listen  to  them,  tell  the  church;  and  if  he 
refuses  to  listen  to  the  church,  treat  him  as  a  pagan  or  a 

18  taxgatherer.     I  tell  you  truly, 

Whatever  you  prohibit  on  earth  will  be  prohibited  in 

heaven, 
and  whatever  you  permit  on  earth  will  be  permitted  in 

heaven. 

19  I  tell  you  another  thing:  if  two  of  you  agree  on  earth 
about  anything  you  pray  for,  it  will  be  done  for  you  by  my 

20  Father  in  heaven.  For  where  two  or  three  have  gathered 
in  my  name,  I  am  there  among  them." 

21  Then  Peter  came  up  and  said  to  him,  "Lord,  how  often 
is  my  brother  to  sin  against  me  and  be  forgiven?     Up  to 

22  seven  times?"     Jesus  said  to  him,  "Seven  times?     I  say, 

23  seventy  times  seven!  That  is  why  the  Realm  of  heaven 
may  be  compared  to  a  king  who  resolved  to  settle  accounts 

24  with  his  servants.    When  he  began  the  settlement,  a  debtor 

25  was  brought  in  who  owed  him  three  million  pounds;  as 
he  was  unable  to  pay,  his  master  ordered  him  to  b&  sold, 
along  with  his  wife  and  children  and  all  he  had,  in  pay- 

26  ment  of  the  sum.  So  the  servant  fell  down  and  prayed 
him,  'Have  patience  with  me,  and  I  will  pay  you  it  all.' 

27  And  out  of  pity  for  that  servant  his  master  released  him 


S.  MATTHEW  XIX  31 

28  and  discharged  his  debt.  But  as  that  servant  went  away, 
he  met  one  of  his  fellow-servants  who  owed  him  twenty 
pounds,  and  seizing  him  by  the  throat  he  said,  'Pay  your 

29  debt!'     So  his  fellow-servant  fell  down  and  implored  him, 

30  saying,  'Have  patience  with  me,  and  I  will  pay  you.'  But 
he  refused;  he  went  and  had  him  thrown  into  prison,  till 

31  he  should  pay  the  debt.  Now  when  his  fellow-servants  saw 
what  had  happened  they  were  greatly  distressed,  and  they 
went  and  explained  to  their  master  all  that  had  happened. 

32  Then  his  master  summoned  him  and  said,  'You  scoundrel 
of  a  servant!     I  discharged  all  that  debt  for  you,  because 

33  you  implored  me.     Ought  you  not  to  have  had  mercy  on 

34  your  fellow-servant,  as  I  had  on  you?'  And  in  hot  anger 
his  master  handed  him  over  to  the  torturers,  till  he  should 

35  pay  him  all  the  debt.  My  Father  will  do  the  same  to  you 
unless  you  each  forgive  your  brother  from  the  heart." 

1  Q  When  Jesus  finished  saying  this  he  moved  from  Gali- 
i  «^  lee   and   went   to   the   territory   of   Judaea   that   lies 

2  across  the  Jordan.  Large  crowds  followed  him  and  he 
healed  them  there. 

3  Then  the  Pharisees  came  up  to  tempt  him.    They  asked, 

4  "Is  it  right  to  divorce  one's  wife  for  any  reason?"  He 
replied,  "Have  you  never  read  that  He  who  created  them 

5  male  and  female  from  the  beginning  said. 

Hence  a  man  shall  leave  his  father  and  mother, 
and  cleave  to  his  wife, 
and  the  pair  shall  be  one  flesh? 

6  So  they  are  no  longer  two,  but  one  flesh.     What  God  has 

7  joined,  then,  man  must  not  separate."  They  said  to  him, 
"Then  why  did  Moses  lay  it  down  that  we  were  to  divorce 

8  by  giving  a  separation-notice  f  He  said  to  them,  "Moses 
permitted  you  to  divorce  your  wives,  on  account  of  the 
hardness  of  your  hearts,  but  it  was  not  so  from  the  begin- 

9  ning.  I  tell  you,  whoever  divorces  his  wife  except  for  un- 
chastity  and  marries  another  woman,  commits  adultery; 
and  he  who  marries  a  divorced  woman  commits  adultery." 

10  The  disciples  said  to  him,  "If  that  is  a  man's  position  with 

11  his  wife,  there  is  no  good  in  marrying."  He  said  to  them, 
"True,  but  this  truth  is  not  practicable  for  everyone,  it 
is  only  for  those  who  have  the  gift. 

12  There  are  eunuchs  who  have  been  eunuchs  from  their  birth, 
there  are  eunuchs  who  have  been  made  eunuchs  by  men, 
and    there    are    eunuchs    who    have    made    themselves 

eunuchs  for  the  sake  of  the  Realm  of  heaven. 
Let  anyone  practice  it  for  whom  it  is  practicable." 

13  Then  children  were  brqught  to  him  that  he  might  lay 
his  hands  on  them  and  pray  over  them.     The  disciples 


32  S.  MATTHEW  XX 

14  checked  the  people,  but  Jesus  said  to  them,  "Let  the  chil- 
dren  alone,   do   not   stop   them   from   coming  to   me:    the 

15  Realm  of  heaven  belongs  to  such  as  these."  Then  he  laid 
his  hands  on  them  and  went  upon  his  way. 

16  Up  came  a  man  and  said  to  him,  "Teacher,  what  good 

17  deed  must  I  do  to  gain  life  eternal?"  He  said  to  him, 
"Why  do  you  ask  me  about  what  is  good?  One  alone  is 
good.     But  if  you  want  to  get  into  Life,  keep  the  com- 

18  mands."  "Which?"  he  said.  Jesus  answered,  "The  com- 
mands, you  shall  not  kill,  you  sliall  not  commit  adultery, 

19  you  shall  not  steal,  you  shall  not  l)ear  false  witness,  honour 
your  father  and  mother,  and  you  must  love  your  neighbour 

20  as  yourself."     The  young  man  said,  "I  have  observed  all 

21  these.  What  more  is  wanting?"  Jesus  said  to  him,  "If 
you  want  to  be  perfect,  go  and  sell  your  property,  give  the 
money  to  the  poor  and  you  shall  have  treasure  in  heaven; 

22  then  come  and  follow  me."  When  the  young  man  heard 
that,  he  went  sadly  away,  for  he  had  great  possessions. 

23  And  Jesus  said  to  his  disciples,  "I  tell  you  truly,  it  will  be 
difficult  for  a  rich  man  to  get  into  the  Realm  of  heaven. 

24  I  tell  you  again,  it  is  easier  for  a  camel  to  get  through  a 
needle's  eye  than  for  a  rich  man  to  get  into  the  Realm  of 

25  God."  When  the  disciples  heard  this  they  were  utterly 
astounded;   they  said,  "Who  then  can  possibly  be  saved?" 

26  Jesus  looked  at  them  and  said,  "This  is  impossible  for  men, 

27  but  anything  is  possible  for  God."  Then  Peter  replied, 
"Well,  we  have  left  our  all  and  followed  you.     Now  what 

28  are  we  to  get?"  Jesus  said  to  them,  "I  tell  you  truly,  in  the 
new  world,  when  the  Son  of  man  shall  sit  on  the  throne  of 
his  glory,  you  who  have  followed  me  shall  also  sit  on  twelve 

29  thrones  to  govern  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel.  Everyone 
who  has  left  brothers  or  sisters  or  father  or  mother  or 
wife  or  children  or  lands  or  houses  for  my  name's  sake 
will  get  a  hundred  times  as  much  and  inherit  life  eternal. 

30  Many  who  are  first  shall  be  last,  and  many  who  are  last 
shall  be  first. 

orv  For  the  Realm  of  heaven  is  like  a  householder  who 
^v/  went  out  early  in  the  morning  to  hire  labourers  for 

2  his  vineyard;  and  after  agreeing  with  the  labourers  to  pay 
them   a  shilling  a   day   he   sent   them   into   his  vineyard. 

3  Then,  on  going  out  at  nine  o'clock  he  noticed  some  other 

4  labourers  standing  in  the  marketplace  doing  nothing;    to 
them  he  said,  'You  go  into  the  vineyard  too,  and  I  will  give 

5  you  whatever  wage  is  fair.'     So  they  went  in.     Going  out 
again  at  twelve  o'clock  and  at  three  o'clock,  he  did  the 

6  same  thing.    And  when  he  went  out  at  five  o'clock  he  came 
upon  some  others  who  were  standing;    he  said  to  them, 

7  'Why  have  you  stood  doing  nothing  all  the  day?'    'Because 


S.  MATTHEW  XX  33 

nobody  hired  us,'  they  said.     He  told  them,  'You  go  into 

8  the  vineyard  too.'  Now  when  evening  came  the  master 
of  the  vineyard  said  to  his  bailiff,  'Summon  the  labourers 
and    pay    them    their    wages,    beginning    with    the    last 

9  and  going  on  to  the  first.'*     When  those  who  had  been 

10  hired  about  five  o'clock  came,  they  got  a  shilling  each.  So 
when  the  first  labourers  came  up,  they  supposed  they  would 

11  get  more;    but  they  too  got  each  their  shilling.     And  on 

12  getting  it  they  grumbled  at  the  householder.  'These  last,' 
they  said,  'have  only  worked  a  single  hour,  and  yet  you 
have  ranked  them  equal  to  us  who  have  borne  the  brunt 

13  of  the  day's  work  and  the  heat!'  Then  he  replied  to  one 
of  them,  'My  man,  I  am  not  wronging  you.     Did  you  not 

14  agree  with  me  for  a  shilling?  Take  what  belongs  to  you 
and  be  off.    I  choose  to  give  this  last  man  the  same  as  you. 

15  Can  I  not  do  as  I  please  with  what  belongs  to  me?    Have 

16  you  a  grudge  because  I  am  generous?'.  So  shall  the  last 
be  first  and  the  first  last." 

17  Now  as  Jesus  was  about  to  go  up  to  Jerusalem  he  took 
the  twelve  aside  by  themselves  and  said  to  them  as  they 

18  were  on  the  road,  "We  are  going  up  to  Jerusalem,  and  the 
Son    of    man    will   be   betrayed   to    the    high    priests    and 

19  scribes;  they  will  sentence  him  to  death  and  hand  him 
over  to  the  Gentiles  to  be  mocked  and  scourged  and  cru- 
cified;  then  on  the  third  day  he  will  be  raised." 

20  Then  the  mother  of  the  sons  of  Zebedaeus  came  up  to 

21  him  with  her  sons,  praying  him  for  a  favour.  He  said  to 
her,  "What  do  you  want?"  She  said,  "Give  orders  that  my 
two  sons  are  to  sit  at  your  right  hand  and  at  your  left  in 

22  your  Realm."  Jesus  replied,  "You  do  not  know  what  you 
are  asking.    Can  you  drink  the  cup  I  am  going  to  drink?" 

23  They  said  to  him,  "We  can."  "You  shall  drink  my  cup," 
said  Jesus,  "but  it  is  not  for  me  to  grant  seats  at  my  right 
hand  and  at  my  left;   these  belong  to  the  men  for  whom 

24  they  have  been  destined  by  my  Father."     When  the  ten 

25  heard  of  this,  they  were  angry  at  the  two  brothers,  but 
Jesus  called  them  and  said, 

"You  know  the  rulers  of  the  Gentiles  lord  it  over  them, 
and  their  great  men  overbear  them: 

26  not  so  with  you. 

Whoever  wants  to  be  great  among  you  must  be  your 
servant, 

27  and  whoever  wants  to  be  first  among  you  must  be  your 

slave ; 

28  just  as  the  Son  of  man  has  not  come  to  be  served  but  to 

serve, 
and  to  give  his  life  as  a  ransom  for  many." 
*  Note  the  connexion  between  this  parable  (ver.  16)  and  xix.  30. 


34  S.  MATTHEW  XXI 

29  As   they   were   leaving   Jericho   a   crowd   followed   him, 

30  and  when  two  blind  men  who  were  sitting  beside  the  road 
heard  Jesus  was  passing,  they  shouted,  "O  Lord,  Son  of 

31  David,  have  pity  on  us!"  The  crowd  checked  them  and 
told  them  to  be  quiet,  but  they  shouted  all  the  louder,  "O 

32  Lord,  Son  of  David,  have  pity  on  us!"  So  Jesus  stopped 
and  called  them.     He  said,  "What  do  you  want  me  to  do 

33  for  you?"     "Lord,"  they  said,  "we  want  our  eyes  opened." 

34  Then  Jesus  in  pity  touched  their  eyes,  and  they  regained 
their  sight  at  once  and  followed  him. 

Oi    When   they  came   near  Jerusalem  and  had  reached 
^  1    Bethphage    at    the    Hill    of    Olives,    then    Jesus    des- 

2  patched  two  disciples,  saying  to  them,  "Go  to  the  village 
in  front  of  you  and  you  will  at  once  find  an  ass  tethered 
with   a  colt   alongside   of   her;    untether   them   and  bring 

3  them  to  me.  If  anyone  says  anything  to  you,  you  will  say 
that  the  Lord  needs  them;   then  he  will  at  once  let  them 

4  go."  This  took  place  for  the  fulfilment  of  what  had  been 
spoken  by  the  prophet, 

5  Tell  the  daughter  of  Sion, 

'Here  is  your  king  coming  to  you, 
He  is  gentle  and  mounted  on  an  ass, 

And  on  a  colt  the  foal  of  a  heast  of  'burden.' 

6  So    the    disciples    went    and    did    as    Jesus    told    them; 

7  they  brought  the  ass  and  the  colt  and  put  their  clothes  on 

8  them.  Jesus  seated  himself  on  them,  and  the  greater  part 
of  the  crowd  spread  their  clothes  on  the  road,  while  others 
cut  branches  from  the  trees  and  strewed  them  on  the  road. 

9  And  the  crowds  who  went  in  front  of  him  and  who  fol- 
lowed behind  shouted, 

"Hosanna  to  the  Son  of  David! 
Blessed  he  he  ivho  comes  in  the  Lord's  name! 
Hosanna  in  high  heaven!" 

10  When  he  entered  Jerusalem  the  whole  city  was  in  excite- 

11  ment  over  him.  "Who  is  this?"  they  said,  and  the  crowds 
replied,  "This  is  the  prophet  Jesus  from  Nazaret  in  Gali- 

12  lee!"  Then  Jesus  went  into  the  temple  of  God  and  drove 
out  all  who  were  buying  and  selling  inside  the  temple; 
he  upset  the  tables  of  the  money-changers  and  the  stalls 

13  of  those  who  sold  doves,  and  told  them,  "It  is  written.  My 
house  shall  be  called  a  house  of  prayer,  but  you  make  it 
a  den  of  robbers.'' 

14  Blind  and  lame  people  came  up  to  him  in  the  temple  and 

15  he  healed  them.  But  when  the  high  priests  and  scribes 
saw  his  wonderful  deeds  and  saw  the  children  who  shouted 
in  the  temple,  "Hosanna  to  the  Son  of  David!"  they  were 

16  indignant;  they  said  to  him,  "Do  you  hear  what  they  are 


S.  MATTHEW  XXI  35 

saying?"     "Yes,"  said  Jesus,  "have  you  never  read  Thou 
Tiast  'brought  praise  to  perfection  from  the  mouth  of  babes 

17  and  sucklings f"  Then  he  left  them  and  went  outside  the 
city  to  Bethany,  where  he  spent  the  night. 

18  In  the  morning  as  he   came   back   to   the   city  he  felt 

19  hungry,  and  noticing  a  fig  tree  by  the  roadside  he  went 
up  to  it,  but  found  nothing  on  it  except  leaves.  He  said 
to  it,  "May  no  fruit  ever  come  from  you  after  this!"    And 

20  instantly  the  fig  tree  withered  up.  When  the  disciples 
saw  this  they  marvelled.     "How  did  the  fig  tree  wither 

21  up  in  an  instant?"  they  said.  Jesus  answered,  "I  tell  you 
truly,  if  you  have  faith,  if  you  have  no  doubt,  you  will 
not  only  do  what  has  been  done  to  the  fig  tree  but  even 
if  you  say  to  this  hill,  'Take  and  throw  yourself  into  the 

22  sea,'  it  will  be  done.  All  that  ever  you  ask  in  prayer  you 
shall  have,  if  you  believe." 

23  When  he  entered  the  temple,  the  high  priests  and  elders 
of  the  people  came  up  to  him  as  he  was  teaching,  and  said, 
"What  authority  have  you  for  acting  in  this  way?     Who 

24  gave  you  this  authority?"  Jesus  replied,  "Well,  I  will 
ask  you  a  question,  and  if  you  answer  me,  then  I  will  tell 

25  you  what  authority  I  have  for  acting  as  I  do.  Where  did 
the  baptism  of  John  come  from?  From  heaven  or  from 
men?"  Now  they  argued  to  themselves,  "If  we  say,  'From 
heaven,'  he  will  say  to  us,  'Then  why  did  you  not  believe 

26  him?'     And  if  we  say,  'From  men,'  we  are  afraid  of  the 

27  crowd,  for  they  all  hold  that  John  was  a  prophet."  So 
they  answered  Jesus,  "We  do  not  know."  He  said  to  them, 
"No  more  will  I  tell  you  what  authority  I  have  for  acting 

28  as  I  do.  Tell  me  what  you  think.  A  man  had  two  sons. 
He  went  to  the  first  and  said,  'Son,  go  and  work  in  the 

29  vineyard  to-day';  he  replied,  'I  will  go,  sir,'  but  he  did  not 

30  go.  The  man  went  to  the  second  and  said  the  same  to 
him;  he  replied,  'I  will  not,'  but  afterwards  he  changed  his 

31  mind  and  did  go.  Which  of  the  two  did  the  will  of  the 
father?"  They  said,  "The  last."  Jesus  said  to  them,  "I 
tell  you  truly,  the  taxgatherers  and  harlots  are  going  into 

32  the  Realm  of  God  before  you.  For  John  showed  you  the 
way  to  be  good  and  you  would  not  believe  him;  the  tax^ 
gatherers  and  harlots  believed  him,  and  even  though  you 
saw  that,  you  would  not  change  your  mind  afterwards  and 
believe  him. 

33  Listen  to  another  parable:  There  was  a  householder  who 
planted  a  vineyard,  put  a  fence  round  it,  dug  a  wine-vat  in- 
side it,  and  built  a  watchtower:  then  he  leased  it  to  vine- 

34  dressers  and  went  abroad.  When  the  fruit-season  was 
near,  he  sent  his  servants  to  the  vinedressers  to  collect  his 

35  fruit;   but  the  vinedressers  took  his  servants  and  flogged 


36  S.  MATTHEW  XXII 

36  one,  killed  another,   and  stoned   a  third.     Once  more  he 

sent  some  other  servants,  more  than  he  had  sent  at  first, 

87  and  they  did  the  same  to  them.     Afterwards  he  sent  them 

38  his  son;  'They  will  respect  my  son,'  he  said.  But  when 
the  vinedressers  saw  his  son  they  said  to  themselves,  'Here 
is  the  heir;  come  on,  let  us  kill  him  and  seize  his  inherit- 

39  ance!'     So  they  took  and  threw  him  outside  the  vineyard 

40  and  killed  him.     Now,   when  the  owner  of  the  vineyard 

41  comes,  what  will  he  do  to  these  vinedressers?"  They 
replied,  "He  will  utterly  destroy  the  wretches  and  lease 
the  vineyard  to  other  vinedressers  who  will  give  him  the 

42  fruits  in  their  season."  Jesus  said  to  them,  "Have  you 
never  read  in  the  scriptures, 

The  stone  that  the  Guilders  rejected 

is  the  chief  stone  now  of  the  corner: 
t?iis  is  the  doing  of  the  Lord, 

and  a  wonder  to  our  eyes? 

43  I  tell  you  therefore  that  the  Realm  of  God  will  be  taken 
from  you  and  given  to  a  nation  that  bears  the  fruits  of  the 
Realm. 

44  [Everyone  who  falls  on  this  stone  will  be  shattered, 

and  whoever  it  falls  upon  will  be  crushed.]" 

45  When  the  high  priests  and  Pharisees  heard  these  parables 

46  they  knew  he  was  speaking  about  them;  they  tried  to 
get  hold  of  him,  but  they  were  afraid  of  the  crowds,  as 
the  crowds  held  him  to  be  a  prophet. 

2  OO  Then  Jesus  again  addressed  them  in  parables.  "The 
^^  Realm  of  heaven,"  he  said,  "may  be  compared  to  a 
king  who  gave  a  marriage-banquet  in  honour  of  his  son. 

3  He  sent  his  servants  to  summon  the  invited  guests  to  the 

4  feast,  but  they  would  not  come.  Once  more  he  sent  some 
other  servants,  saying,  'Tell  the  invited  guests,  here  is  my 
supper   all  prepared,   my  oxen   and  fat  cattle   are   killed, 

5  everything  is  ready;  come  to  the  marriage-banquet.'  But 
they  paid  no   attention  and  went  off,  one  to  his  estate, 

6  another  to  his  business,  while  the  rest  seized  his  servants 

7  and  ill-treated  them  and  killed  them.  The  king  was  en- 
raged;  he  sent  his  troops  and  destroyed  those  murderers 

8  and  burned  up  their  city.  Then  he  said  to  his  servants, 
'The  marriage-banquet  is  all  ready,  but  the  invited  guests 

9  did  not  deserve  it.    So  go  to  the  byeways  and  invite  anyone 

10  you  meet  to  the  marriage-banquet.'  And  those  servants 
went  out  on  the  roads  and  gathered  all  they  met,  bad 
and  good  alike.     Thus  the  marriage-banquet  was  supplied 

11  with  guests.  Now  when  the  king  came  in  to  view  his 
guests,   he   saw  a  man   there   who   was  not   dressed   in  a 

12  wedding-robe.     So  he  said  to  him,  'My  man,  how  did  you 


S.  MATTHEW  XXII  37 

get  in  here  without  a  wedding-robe?'    The  man  was  speech- 

13  less.-  Then  said  the  king  to  his  servants,  'Take  him  hand 
and  foot,  and  throw  him  outside,  out  into  the  darkness; 

14  there  men  will  wail  and  gnash  their  teeth.  For  many 
are  invited  but  few  are  chosen.' " 

15  Then  the  Pharisees  went  and  plotted  to  trap  him  in  talk. 

16  They  sent  him  their  disciples  with  the  Herodians,  who 
said,  "Teacher,  we  know  you  are  sincere  and  that  you 
teach  the  Way  of  God  honestly  and  fearlessly;  you  do  not 

17  court  human  favour.     Tell  us,  then,  what  you  think  about 

18  this.  Is  it  right  to  pay  taxes  to  Caesar  or  not?"  But 
Jesus  detected  their  malice.     He  said,  "Why  do  you  tempt 

19  me,  you  hypocrites?     Show  me  the  coin  for  taxes."     So 

20  they  brought  him  a  shilling.  Then  Jesus  said  to  them, 
"Whose   likeness,   whose   inscription   is   this?"   "Caesar's," 

21  they  said.     Then  he  told  them,  "Give  Caesar  what  belongs 
11  to  Caesar,  give  God  what  belongs  to   God."     When  they 

heard  that  they  marvelled;   then  they  left  him  and  went 
away. 

23  That  same  day  some  Sadducees  came  up  to  him,  men  who 

24  hold  there  is  no  resurrection.     They  put  this  question  to 

24  him:  "Teacher,  Moses  said  that  if  anyone  dies  tvitJiout  chil- 
dren, his  brother  is  to  espouse  his  wife  and  raise  offspring 

25  for  his  brother.  Now  there  were  seven  brothers  in  our  num- 
ber.   The  first  married  and  died;  as  he  had  no  children  he 

26  left  his  wife  to  his  brother.     The  same  happened  with  the 

27  second  and  the  third,  down  to  the  seventh.    After  them  all, 

28  the  woman  died.    Now  at  the  resurrection  whose  wife  will 

29  she  be?  They  all  had  her."  Jesus  answered  them,  "You 
go  wrong  because  you  understand  neither  the  scriptures 

30  nor  the  power  of  God.  At  the  resurrection  people  neither 
marry  nor  are  married,  they  are  like  the  angels  of  God  in 

31  heaven.    And  as  for  the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  have  you 

32  not  read  what  was  said  to  you  by  God,  /  am  the  God  o^ 
Abraham  and  the  God  of  Isaac  and  the  God  of  Jacob?    He 

33  is  not  a  God  of  dead  people  but  of  living."  And  when  the 
crowds  heard  it,  they  were  astounded  at  his  teaching. 

34  When  the  Pharisees  heard  he  had  silenced  the  Sadducees, 

35  they  mustered  their  forces,  and  one  of  them,  a  jurist,  put 

36  a  question  in  order  to  tempt  him.    "Teacher,"  he  said,  "what 

37  is  the  greatest  Qommand  in  the  Law?"  He  replied,  ''You 
must  love  the  Lord  your  God  with  your  whole  heart,  with 

38  your  whole  soul,  and  with  your  whole  mind.     This  is  the 

39  greatest  and  chief  command.    There  is  a  second  like  it:  you 

40  must  love  your  neighbour  as  yourself.  The  whole  Law 
and  the  prophets  hang  upon  these  two  commands." 

41  As  the  Pharisees  had  mustered,  Jesus  put  a  question  to 

42  them.    "Tell  me,"  he  said,  "what  you  think  about  the  Christ. 


38  S.  MATTHEW  XXIII 

43  Whose  son  is  he?"  They  said  to  him,  "David's."  He  said 
to  them,  "How  is  it  then  that  David  in  the  Spirit  calls  him 
Lord? 

44  The  Lord  said  to  my  Lord,  'Sit  at  my  right  hand, 

till  I  put  your  enemies  under  your  feet.' 
|g   If  David  calls  him  Lord,  how  can  he  be  his  son?"    No  one 
could  make  any  answer  to  him,  and  from  that  day  no  one 
ventured  to  put  another  question  to  him. 

OO  Then  Jesus  spoke  to  the  crowds  and  to  his  disciples. 

2  -^O  "The  scribes  and  Pharisees  sit  on  the  seat  of  Moses; 

3  so  do  whatever  they  tell  you,  obey  them,  but  do  not  do  as 

4  they  do.     They  talk  but  they  do  not  act.     They  make  up 
heavy  loads  and  lay  them  on  men's  shoulders  but  they  will 

5  not  stir  a  finger  to  remove  them.     Besides,  all  they  do  is 
done  to  catch  the  notice  of  men;  they  make  their  phylac- 

6  teries  broad,  they  wear  large  tassels,  they  are  fond  of  the 
best  places  at  banquets  and  the  front  seats  in  the  syna- 

7  gogues;  they  like  to  be  saluted  in  the  marketplaces  and  to 
be  called  'rabbi'  by  men. 

8  But  you  are  not  to  be  called  'rabbi,' 

for  One  is  your  teacher,  and  you  are  all  brothers; 

9  you  are  not  to  call  anyone  'father'  on  earth, 

for  One  is  your  heavenly  Father; 

10  nor  must  you  be  called  'leaders,' 

for  One  is  your  leader,  even  the  Christ. 

11  He  who  is  greatest  among  you  must  be  your  servant. 

12  Whoever  uplifts  himself  will  be  humbled, 

and  whoever  humbles  himself  will  be  uplifted. 

13  Woe  to  you,  you  impious  scribes  and  Pharisees! 

you  shut  the  Realm  of  heaven  in  men's  faces; 
you  neither  enter  yourselves, 

nor  will  you  let  those  enter  who  are  on  the  point  of 
entering, 

15  Woe  to  you,  you  impious  scribes  and  Pharisees! 

you  traverse  sea  and  land  to  make  a  single  proselyte, 
and  when  you  succeed  you  make  him  a  son  of  Gehenna 
twice  as  bad  as  yourselves. 

16  Woe  to  you,  blind  guides  that  you  are! 

you  say,  'Swear  by  the  sanctuary,  and  it  means  nothing; 
but  swear  by  the  gold  of  the  sanctuary,  and  the  oath 
is  binding.' 

17  You  are  senseless  and  blind!  for  which  is  the  greater, 
the  gold  or  the  sanctuary  that  makes  the  gold  sacred? 

18  You  say  again,  'Swear  by  the  altar,  and  it  means  noth- 

ing; 
but  swear  by  the  gift  upon  it,  and  the  oath  is  binding.' 

19  You  are  blind!  for  which  is  the  greater, 


S.  MATTHEW  XXIII  39 

the  gift  or  the  altar  that  makes  the  gift  sacred? 

20  He  who  swears  by  the  altar 

swears  by  it  and  by  all  that  lies  on  it; 

21  he  who  swears  by  the  sanctuary 

swears  by  it  and  by  Him  who  inhabits  it; 

22  he  who  swears  by  heaven 

swears  by  the  throne  of  God  and  by  Him  who  sits 
upon  it. 

23  Woe  to  you,  you  impious  scribes  and  Pharisees! 

you  tithe  mint  and  dill  and  cummin, 
and  omit  the  weightier  matters  of  the  law, 
justice  and  mercy  and  faithfulness; 
these  latter  you  ought  to  have  practised — without  omit- 
ting the  former. 

24  Blind  guides  that  you  are, 

filtering  away  the  gnat  and  swallowing  the  camel! 

25  Woe  to  you,  you  irreligious  scribes  and  Pharisees! 

you  clean  the  outside  of  the  cup  and  the  plate, 

but   inside   they   are   filled   with   your   rapacity   and 
self-indulgence. 

26  Blind  Pharisee!  first  clean  the  inside  of  the  cup, 

so  that  the  outside  may  be  clean  as  well. 

27  Woe  to  you,  you  irreligious  scribes  and  Pharisees! 

you  are  like  tombs  white-washed; 
they  look  comely  on  the  outside, 
but  inside  they  are  full  of  dead  men's  bones  and  all 
manner  of  impurity. 

28  So  to  men  you  seem  just, 

but  inside  you  are  full  of  hypocrisy  and  iniquity. 

29  Woe  to  you,  you  irreligious  scribes  and  Pharisees!  You 
build  tombs  for  the  prophets  and  decorate  the  tombs  of  the 

30  just,  and  you  say  *If  we  had  been  living  in  the  days  of  our 
fathers,  we  would  not  have  joined  them  in  shedding  the 

31  blood  of  the  prophets.'  So  you  are  witnesses  against  your- 
selves, that  you  are  sons  of  those  who  killed  the  prophets! 

32  And  you  will  fill  up*  the  measure  that  your  fathers  filled. 

33  You  serpents!    you  brood  of  vipers!    how  can  you  escape 

34  being  sentenced  to  Gehenna?  This  is  why  I  will  send  you 
prophets,  wise  men,  and  scribes,  some  of  whom  you  will  kill 
and  crucify,  some  of  whom  you  will  fiog  in  your  synagogues 

35  and  persecute  from  town  to  town;  it  is  that  on  you  may 
fall  the  punishment  for  all  the  just  blood  shed  on  earth 
from  the  blood  of  Abel  the  just  down  to  the  blood  of 
Zechariah  the  son  of  Barachiah,  whom  you  murdered  be- 

36  tween  the  sanctuary  and  the  altar.  I  tell  you  truly,  it  will 
all  come  upon  this  generation. 

*  Reading  irXrjpdoaeTe  with  B,  Syr.Sin. 


40  S.  MATTHEW  XXIV 

37  O  Jerusalem,  Jerusalem!  slaying  the  prophets  and  ston- 
ing those  who  have  been  sent  to  you!  How  often  I  would 
fain   have  gathered  your   children   as   a  fowl   gathers   her 

38  brood  under  her  wings!     But  you  would  not  have  it!     See, 

39  your  House  is  left  to  you,  desolate.  For  I  tell  you,  you  will 
never  see  me  again  till  you  say.  Blessed  be  he  who  comes  in 
the  Lord's  name.''' 

0/<   So  Jesus  left  the  temple  and  went  on  his  way.     His 
^^  disciples  came  forward  to  point  out  to  him  the  temple- 

2  buildings,  but  he  replied  to  them,  "You  see  all  this?  I  tell 
you  truly,  not  a  stone  here  will  be  left  upon  another,  with- 
out being  torn  down." 

3  So  as  he  sat  on  the  Hill  of  Olives  the  disciples  came  up 
to  him  in  private  and  said,  "Tell  us,  when  will  this  happen? 
What  will  be  the  sign  of  your  arrival  and  of  the  end  of  the 

4  world?"     Jesus  replied,  "Take  care  that  no  one  misleads 
0  you;    for  many  will  come  in  my  name,  saying  'I  am  the 

6  Christ,'  and  they  will  mislead  many.  You  will  hear  of  wars 
and  rumours  of  wars;  see  and  do  not  be  alarmed.     These 

7  have  to  come,  but  it  is  not  the  end  yet.  For  nation  luill  rise 
against   nation,    and   realm    against   realm;   there   will   be 

8  famines  and  earthquakes  here  and  there.     All  that  is  but 

9  the  beginning  of  the  trouble.  Then  men  will  hand  you  over 
to  suffer  affliction,  and  they  will  kill  you;  you  will  be  hated 

10  by  all  the  Gentiles  on  account  of  my  name.  And  many  icill 
he  repelled  then,  they  will  betray  one  another  and  hate  one 

11  another.      Many    false    prophets    will    rise    and    mislead 

12  many.     And  in  most  of  you  love  will  grow  cold  by  the  in- 

13  crease  of  iniquity;  but  he  will  be  saved  who  holds  out  to 

14  the  very  end.  This  gospel  of  the  Reign  shall  be  preached 
all  over  the  wide  world  as  a  testimony  to  all  the  Gentiles, 
and  then  the  end  will  come. 

15  So  when  you  see  the  appalling  Horror  spoken  of  by  the 
prophet  Daniel,  standing  erect  in  the  holy  place   (let  the 

16  reader  note  this),  then  let  those  who  are  in  Judaea  fly  to 

17  the  hills;  a  man  on  the  housetop  must  not  go  down  to  fetch 

18  what  is  inside  his  house,  and  a  man  in  the  field  must  not 

19  turn  back  to  get  his  coat.    Woe  to  women  with  child  and  to 

20  women  who  give  suck  in  those  days!     Pray  that  you  may 

21  not  have  to  fly  in  winter  or  on  the  sabbath,  for  there  will  be 
sore  misery  then,  such  as  has  never  been  from  the  begin- 

22  ning  of  the  world  till  now — no  and  never  shall  be.  Had 
not  those  days  been  cut  short,  not  a  soul  would  be  saved 
alive;  however,  for  the  sake  of  the  elect,  those  days  will  be 
cut  short. 

23  If  anyone  tells  you  at  that  time,  'Here  is  the  Christ!'  or, 

24  'there  he  is!'  do  not  believe  it;  for  false  Christs  and  false 


S.  MATTHEW  XXIV  41 

prophets    will    rise    and    bring    forward    great    signs    and 
wonders,  so  as  to  mislead  the  very  elect, — if  that  were  pos- 

25  sible.     (I  am  telling  you  this  beforehand.) 

26  If  they  tell  you,  'Here  he  is  in  the  desert,' 

do  not  go  out; 
'here  he  is  in  the  chamber,' 
do  not  believe  it. 

27  For  like  lightning  that  shoots  from  east  to  west, 
so  will  be  the  arrival  of  the  Son  of  man. 

28  Wherever  the  body  lies, 
there  will  the  vultures  gather. 

29  Immediately  after  the  misery  of  those  days 
the  sun  ivill  be  darkened, 

and  the  moon  will  not  yield  her  light, 
the  stars  tvill  drop  from  heave7i 
and  the  orbs  of  the  heavens  will  be  shaken. 

30  Then  the  Sign  of  the  Son  of  man  will  appear  in  heaven; 
then  all  tribes  on  earth  will  wail,  they  will  see  the  Son  of 
man  coming  on  the  clouds  of  heaven  with  great  power  and 

31  glory.  He  will  despatch  his  angels  with  a  loud  trumpet- 
call  to  muster  his  elect  from  the  four  winds,  from  the  verge 
of  heaven  to  the  verge  of  earth. 

32  Let  the  fig  tree  teach  you  a  parable.  As  soon  as  its 
branches  turn  soft  and  put  out  leaves,  you  know  summer  is 

33  at  hand;  so,  whenever  you  see  all  this  happen,  you  may  be 
sure  He  is  at  hand,  at  the  very  door. 

34  I  tell  you  truly,  the  present  generation  will  not  pass  away 

35  till  all  this  happens.  Heaven  and  earth  will  pass  away,  but 
my  words  will  never  pass  away. 

36  Now  no  one  knows  anything  about  that  day  or  hour,  not 

37  even  the  angels  in  heaven,  but  only  my  Father.  As  were 
the  days  of  Noah,  so  will  the  arrival  of  the  Son  of  man  be. 

38  For  as  in  the  days  before  the  deluge  people  ate  and  drank, 
married  and  were  married,  till  the  day  Noah  entered  the 

39  ark;  and  as  they  knew  nothing  till  the  deluge  came  and 
swept  them  all  away;  so  will  the  arrival  of  the  Son  of  man 
be. 

40  Then  there  will  be  two  men  in  the  field, 

one  will  be  taken  and  one  will  be  left; 

41  two  women  will  be  grinding  at  the  millstone, 

one  will  be  taken  and  one  will  be  left. 

42  Keep  on  the  watch  then,  for  you  never  know  what  day  your 

43  Lord  will  come.  But  be  sure  of  this,  that  if  the  householder 
had  known  at  what  watch  in  the  night  the  thief  was  com- 
ing, he  would  have  been  on  the  watch,  he  would  not  have 

44  allowed  his  house  to  be  broken  into.  So  be  ready  your- 
selves, for  the  Son  of  man  is  coming  at  an  hour  you  do  not 
expect. 


42  S.  MATTHEW  XXV 

45  Now  where  is  the  trusty  and  thoughtful  servant,  whom 
his  lord  and  master  has  set  over  his  household  to  assign 

46  them  their  supplies  at  the  proper  time?  Blessed  is  that 
servant  if  his  lord  and  master  finds  him  so  doing  when  he 

47  arrives!     I  tell  you  truly,  he  will  set  him  over  all  his  prop- 

48  erty.    But  if  the*  bad  servant  says  to  himself,  'My  lord  and 

49  master  is  long  of  coming,'  and  if  he  starts  to  beat  his  fel- 

50  low-servants  and  to  eat  and  drink  with  drunkards,  that 
servant's  lord  and  master  will  arrive  on  a  day  when  he  does 
not  expect  him  and  at  an  hour  which  he  does  not  know; 

51  he  will  cut  him  in  two  and  assign  him  the  fate  of  the  hypo- 
crites.   There  men  will  wail  and  gnash  their  teeth. 

O  /r  Then  shall  the  Realm  of  heaven  be  compared  to  ten 
^^  maidens  who  took  their  lamps  and  went  out  to  meet 

2  the  bridegroom  and  the  bride,  t    Five  of  them  were  stupid 

3  and  five  were  sensible.     For  although  the  stupid  took  their 

4  lamps,  they  took  no  oil  with  them,  whereas  the  sensible 

5  took  oil  in  their  vessels  as  well  as  their  lamps.     As  the 
bridegroom  was  long  of  coming,  they  all  grew  drowsy  and 

6  went  to  sleep.    But  at  midnight  the  cry  arose,  'Here  is  the 

7  bridegroom!     Come  out  to  meet  him!'    Then  all  the  maidens 

8  rose  and  trimmed  their  lamps.     The  stupid  said  to  the  sen- 
sible, 'Give  us  some  of  your  oil,  for  our  lamps  are  going 

9  out.'    But  the  sensible  replied,  'No,  there  may  not  be  enough 
for  us  and  for  you.     Better  go  to  the  dealers  and  buy  for 

10  yourselves.'  Now  while  they  were  away  buying  oil,  the 
bridegroom  arrived;  those  maidens  who  were  ready  accom- 
panied him  to  the  marriage-banquet,  and  the  door  was  shut. 

11  Afterwards  the  rest  of  the  maidens  came  and  said,  'Oh  sir, 

12  oh  sir,  open  the  door  for  us!'  but  he  replied,  'I  tell  you 

13  frankly,  I  do  not  know  you.'  Keep  on  the  watch  then,  for 
you  know  neither  the  day  nor  the  hour. 

14  For  the  case  is  that  of  a  man  going  abroad,  who  sum- 
moned his  servants  and  handed  over  his  property  to  them; 

15  to  one  he  gave  twelve  hundred  pounds,  to  another  five 
hundred,  and  to  another  two  hundred  and  fifty;  each  got 
according  to   his   capacity.      Then    the   man   went   abroad. 

16  The  servant  who  had  got  the  twelve  hundred  pounds  at  once 
went  and  traded  with  them,  making  another  twelve  hundred. 

17  Similarly  the  servant  who  had  got  the  five  hundred  pounds 

18  made  another  five  hundred.  But  the  servant  who  had  got 
the  two  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  went  off  and  dug  a  hole 

*  Omitting  [^Ketyos],  a  harmonistic  gloss  from  Luke  xii.  4.5. 

t  The  words  koL  t^s  vvix(f>r}s  are  added  by  D  X*,  the  Latin  and  Syriac 
versions,  etc.  Their  omission  may  have  been  due  to  the  feeling  of 
the  later  church  that  Jesus  as  the  Bridegroom  ought  alone  to  be  men- 
tioned. 


S.  MATTHEW  XXV  43^ 

19  in  the  ground  and  hid  his  master's  money.  Now  a  long  time 
afterwards  the  master   of  those   servants  came   back   and 

20  settled  accounts  with  them.  Then  the  servant  who  had  got 
the  twelve  hundred  pounds  came  forward,  bringing  twelve 
hundred  more;  he  said,  'You  handed  me  twelve  hundred 
pounds,  sir;   here  I  have  gained  another  twelve  hundred.' 

21  His  master  said  to  him,  'Capital,  you  excellent  and  trusty 
servant!  You  have  been  trusty  in  charge  of  a  small  sum: 
I  will  put  you  in  charge  of  a  large  sum.     Come  and  share 

22  your  master's  feast.'  Then  the  servant  with  the  five 
hundred  pounds  came  forward.  He  said,  'You  handed  me 
five    hundred    pounds,    sir;    here    I    have    gained    another 

23  five  hundred.'  His  master  said  to  him,  'Capital,  you  ex- 
cellent and  trusty  servant!  You  have  been  trusty  in 
charge   of   a  small   sum:    I   will  put  you   in  charge   of  a 

24  large  sum.  Come  and  share  your  master's  feast.'  Then 
the  servant  who  had  got  the  two  hundred  and  fifty  pounds 
came  forward.  He  said,  'I  knew  you  were  a  hard  man, 
sir,     reaping     where     you     never     sowed     and     gathering 

25  where  you  never  winnowed.  So  I  was  afraid;  I  went  and 
hid    your    two    hundred    and    fifty    pounds    in    the    earth. 

26  There's  your  money!'  His  master  said  to  him  in  reply,  'You 
rascal,  you  idle  servant!  You  knew,  did  you,  that  I  reap 
where  I  have  never  sowed  and  gather  where  I  have  never 

27  winnowed!  Well  then,  you  should  have  handed  my  money 
to  the  bankers  and  I  would  have  got  my  capital  with  inter- 

28  est  when  I  came  back.  Take  therefore  the  two  hundred 
and  fifty  pounds  away  from  him,  give  it  to  the  servant  who 
had  the  twelve  hundred. 

29  For  to  everyone  who  has  shall  more  be  given  and  richly 

given ; 
but  from  him  who  has  nothing,  even  what  he  has  shall 
be  taken. 

30  Throw  the  good-for-nothing  servant  into  the  darkness  out- 
side; there  men  will  wail  and  gnash  their  teeth. 

31  When  the  Son  of  man  comes  in  his  glory  and  all  the 
angels  ivith  him,  then  he  will  sit  on  the  throne  of  his  glory, 

32  and  all  nations  will  be  gathered  in  front  of  him;  he  will 
separate  them  one  from  another,  as  a  shepherd  separates 

33  the  sheep  from  the  goats,  setting  the  sheep  on  his  right 

34  hand  and  the  goats  on  his  left.  Then  shall  the  King  say 
to  those  on  his  right,  'Come,  you  whom  my  Father  has 
blessed,  come  into  your  inheritance  in  the  realm  prepared 
for  you  from  the  foundation  of  the  world. 

35  For  I  was  hungry  and  you  fed  me, 

I  was  thirsty  and  you  gave  me  drink, 
I  was  a  stranger  and  you  entertained  me, 

36  I  was  unclothed  and  you  clothed  me, 


44  S.  MATTHEW  XXVI 

I  was  ill  and  you  looked  after  me, 
I  was  in  prison  and  you  visited  me.' 

37  Then  the  just  will  answer, 

'Lord,   when    did   we   see   you   hungry   and   fed   you?   or 
thirsty  and  gave  you  drink? 

38  when  did  we  see  you  a  stranger  and  entertain  you?  or 

unclothed  and  clothed  you? 

39  when  did  we  see  you  ill  or  in  prison  and  visit  you?' 

40  The  King  will  answer  them,  'I  tell  you  truly,  in  so  far  as 
you  did  it  to  one  of  these  brothers  of  mine,  even  to  the  least 

41  of  them,  you  did  it  to  me.'  Then  he  will  say  to  those  on 
the  left,  'Begone  from  me,  you  accursed  ones,  to  the  eternal 
fire  which  has  been  prepared  for  the  devil  and  his  angels! 

42  For  I  was  hungry  but  you  never  fed  me, 

I  was  thirsty  but  you  never  gave  me  drink, 

43  I  was  a  stranger  but  you  never  entertained  me, 

I  was  unclothed  but  you  never  clothed  me, 
I  was  ill  and  in  prison  but  you  never  looked  after  me.' 

44  Then  they  will  answer  too,  'Lord,  when  did  we  ever  see 
you  hungry  or  thirsty  or  a  stranger  or  unclothed  or  ill  or 

45  in  prison,  and  did  not  minister  to  you?'  Then  he  will  an- 
swer them,  'I  tell  you  truly,  in  so  far  as  you  did  not  do  it 
to  one  of  these,  even  the  least  of  them,  you  did  not  do  it  to 
me.' 

46  So  they  shall  depart  to  eternal  punishment, 

and  the  just  to  eternal  life." 

Of\  Whex  Jesus  finished  saying  all  this  he  said  to  his 

2  -^U  disciples,  "You  know  the  passover  is  to  be  held  two 
days  after  this;  and  the  Son  of  man  will  be  delivered  up  to 
be  crucified." 

3  Then  the  high  priests  and  the  elders  of  the  people  met 
in  the  palace  of  the  high  priest  who  was  called  Caiaphas 

4  and  took  counsel  together  to  get  hold  of  Jesus  by  craft  and 

5  have  him  put  to  death.  "Only,"  they  said,  "it  must  not  be 
during  the  festival,  in  case  of  a  riot  among  the  people." 

6  Now  when  Jesus  was  at  Bethany  in  the  house  of  Simon 

7  the  leper,  a  woman  came  up  to  him  with  an  alabaster  flask 
of  expensive  perfume  which  she  poured  over  his  head  as 

8  he  lay  at  table.     When  the  disciples  saw  this  they  were 

9  angry.  "What  is  the  use  of  this  waste?"  they  said;  "the 
perfume  might  have  been  sold  for  a  good  sum,  and  the  poor 

10  might  have  got  that."  But  Jesus  was  aware  of  what  they 
said,  and  he  replied,  "Why  are  you  annoying  the  woman? 

11  It  is  a  beautiful  thing  she  has  done  to  me.  The  poor  you 
always  have  beside  you,  but  you  will  not  always  have  me. 

12  In  pouring  this  perfume  on  my  body  she  has  acted  in  view 

13  of  my  burial.     I   tell  you  truly,  wherever  this  gospel   is 


S.  MATTHEW  XXVI  45 

preached  through  all  the  world,  men  will  speak  of  what  she 
has  done  in  memory  of  her." 

14  Then    one    of    the    twelve    called    Judas    Iscariot    went 

15  and  said  to  the  high  priests,  "What  will  you  give  me  for  be- 
traying him  to  you?"    And  they  iveighed  out  for  him  tJiirty 

16  silver  pieces.  From  that  moment  he  sought  a  good  oppor- 
tunity to  betray  him. 

17  On  the  first  day  of  unleavened  bread  the  disciples  of  Jesus 
came  up  and  said  to  him,  "Where  do  you  want  us  to  prepare 

18  for  you  to  eat  the  passover?"  He  said,  "Go  into  the  city  to 
so-and-so;  tell  him  that  the  Teacher  says,  'My  time  is  near, 
I  will  celebrate  the  passover  at  your  house  with  my  dis- 

19  ciples.'  "     So  the  disciples  did  as  Jesus  had  told  them  and 

20  prepared  the  passover.    When  evening  came  he  lay  at  table 

21  with  the  disciples,  and  as  they  were  eating  he  said,  "One 

22  of  you  is  going  to  betray  me."  They  were  greatly  distressed 
at  this,  and  each  of  them  said  to  him,  "Lord,  surely  it  is 

23  not  me."    He  answered,  "One  who  has  dipped  his  hand  into 

24  the  same  dish  as  myself  is  going  to  betray  me.  The  Son  of 
man  goes  the  road  that  the  scripture  has  described  for  him, 
but  woe  to  the  man  by  whom  the  Son  of  man  is  betrayed! 

25  Better  that  man  had  never  been  born!"  Then  Judas  his 
betrayer  said,  "Surely  it  is  not  me,  rabbi?"  He  said  to  him, 
"Is  it  not?" 

26  As  they  were  eating  he  took  a  loaf  and  after  the  blessing 
he  broke  it;  then  he  gave  it  to  the  disciples  saying,  "Take 

27  and  eat  this,  it  means  my  body."  He  also  took  a  cup  and 
after  thanking  God  he  gave  it  to  them  saying,  "Drink  of 

28  it,  all  of  you;  this  means  my  blood,  the  new  covenant-blood, 

29  shed  for  many,  to  win  the  remission  of  their  sins.  I  tell 
you,  after  this  I  will  never  drink  this  produce  of  the  vine 
till  the  day  I  drink  it  new  with  you  in  the  Realm  of  my 
Father." 

30  After  the  hymn  of  praise  they  went  out  to  the  Hill  of 

31  Olives.  Then  Jesus  said  to  them,  "You  will  all  be  discon- 
certed over  me  to-night,  for  it  is  written,  I  loill  strike  at 
the  sTiepherd  and  the  sheep  of  the  flock  ivill  be  scattered. 

^1  But  after  my  rising  I  will  precede  you  to  Galilee."  Peter 
answered,  "Supposing  they  are  all  disconcerted  over  you, 

34  I  will  not  be  disconcerted."  Jesus  said  to  him,  "I  tell  you 
truly,   you   will   disown   me   three   times   this  very  night, 

35  before  the  cock  crows."  Peter  said  to  him,  "Even  though 
I  have  to  die  with  you,  I  will  never  disown  you."  And  all 
the  disciples  said  the  same  thing. 

36  Then  Jesus  came  with  them  to  a  place  called  Gethsemane, 
and  he  told  the  disciples,  "Sit  here  till  I  go  over  there  and 

37  pray."  But  he  took  Peter  and  the  two  sons  of  Zebedaeus 
along  with  him;  and  when  he  began  to  feel  distressed  and 


46  S.  MATTHEW  XXVI 

38  agitated,  he  said  to  them,  "Mij  heart  is  sad,  sad  even  to 

39  death;  stay  here  and  watch  with  me."  Then  he  went  for- 
ward a  little  and  fell  on  his  face  praying,  "My  father,  if  it 
is  possible,  let  this  cup  pass  me.     Yet,  not  what  I  will  hut 

40  what  thou  wilt."  Then  he  went  to  the  disciples  and  found 
them  asleep;  and  he  said  to  Peter,  "So  the  three  of  you  could 

41  not  watch  with  me  for  a  single  hour?  Watch  and  pray,  all 
of  you,  so  that  you  may  not  slip   into  temptation.     The 

42  spirit  is  eager  but  the  flesh  is  weak."  Again  he  went  away 
for  the  second  time  and  prayed,  "My  Father,  if  this  cup 

43  cannot  pass  unless  I  drink  it,  thy  will  be  done."  And  when 
he  returned  he   found  them   asleep   again,   for   their   eyes 

44  were  heavy.     So  he  left  them  and  went  back  for  the  third 

45  time,  praying  in  the  same  words  as  before.  Then  he  went 
to  the  disciples  and  said  to  them,  "Still  asleep?  still  resting? 
The  hour  is  near,  the   Son   of  man   is  betrayed  into   the 

46  hands  of  sinners.    Come,  get  up  and  let  us  go.    Here  is  my 

47  betrayer  close  at  hand!"  While  he  "s.as  still  speaking,  up 
came  Judas,  one  of  the  twelve,  accompanied  by  a  large  mob 
with  swords  and  clubs  who  had  come  from  the  high  priests 

48  and  the  elders  of  the  people.  Now  his  betrayer  had  given 
them  a  signal;  he  said,  "Whoever  I  kiss,  that  is  the  man." 

49  So  he  went  up  at  once  to  Jesus;  "Hail,  rabbi!"  he  said,  and 

50  kissed  him.     Jesus  said,  "My  n^an,  do  your  errand."     Then 

51  they  laid  hands  on  Jesus  and  seized  him.  One  of  his  com- 
panions put  out  his  hand,  drew  his  sword,  and  struck  the 

52  servant  of  the  high  priest,  cutting  off  his  ear.  Then  Jesus 
said  to  him,  "Put  your  sword  back  into  its  place;  all  who 

53  draw  the  sword  shall  die  by  the  sword.  What!  do  you  think 
I  cannot  appeal  to  my  Father  to  furnish  me  at  this  moment 

54  with  over  twelve  legions  of  angels?  Only,  how  could  the 
scriptures  be  fulfilled   then — the   scriptures   that   say   this 

55  must  be  so?"  At  that  hour  Jesus  said  to  the  crowds,  "Have 
you  sallied  out  to  arrest  me  like  a  robber,  with  swords  and 
clubs?    Day  after  day  I  sat  in  the  temple  teaching,  and  you 

56  never  seized  me.  However,  this  has  all  happened  for  the 
fulfilment  of  the  prophetic  scriptures!" 

57  Then  all  the  disciples  left  him  and  fled;  but  those  who  had 
seized  Jesus  took  him  away  to  the  house  of  Caiaphas  the 
high   priest,   where   the   scribes   and   elders   had    gathered. 

58  Peter  followed  him  at  a  distance  as  far  as  the  courtyard 
of  the  high  priest,  and  when  he  got  inside  he  sat  down 
beside  the  attendants  to  see  the  end. 

59  Now  the  high  priests  and  the  whole  of  the  Sanhedrin  tried 
to  secure  false  witness  against  Jesus,  in  order  to  have  him 

60  put  to  death;  but  they  could  find  none,  although  a  number  of 
false  witnesses   came   forward.     However,  two   men    came 

61  forward   at  last   and   said,   "This   fellow   declared,   'I   can 


S.  MATTHEW  XXVII  47 

destroy  the  temple  of  God  and  build  it  in  three  days.' " 

62  So  the  high  priest  rose  and  said  to  him,  "Have  you  no  reply 

63  to  make?  What  of  this  evidence  against  you?"  Jesus  said 
nothing.  Then  the  high  priest  addressed  him,  "I  adjure  you 
by  the  living  God,  tell  us  if  you  are  the  Christ,  the  Son  of 

64  God!"  Jesus  said  to  him,  "Even  so!  But  I  tell  you,  in  future 
you  will  all  see  the  Son  of  man  seated  at  the  right  hand  of  the 

65  Power,  and  coming  on  the  clouds  of  heaven."  Then  the 
high  priest  tore  his  dress  and  cried,  "He  has  blasphemed! 
What  more  evidence  do  we  want?     Look,  you  have  heard 

66  his  blasphemy  for  yourselves!     What  is  your  view?"     They 

67  replied,  "He  is  doomed  to  death."  Then  they  spat  in  his 
face  and  buffeted  him,  some  of  them  cuffing  him  and  crying, 

68  "Prophesy  to  us,  you  Christ!    tell  us  who  struck  you!" 

69  Now  Peter  was  sitting  outside  in  the  courtyard.  A  maid- 
servant came  up  and  said  to  him,  "You  were  with  Jesus  the 

70  Galilean  too."    But  he  denied  it  before  them  all.    "I  do  not 

71  know  what  you  mean,"  he  said.  When  he  went  out  to  the 
gateway  another  maidservant  noticed  him  and  said  to  those 
who  were  there,  "This  fellow  was  with  Jesus  the  Nazarene." 

72  Again  he  denied  it;   he  swore,  "I  do  not  know  the  man." 

73  After  a  little  the  bystanders  came  up  and  said  to  Peter, 
"To  be  sure,  you  are  one  of  them  too.     Why,  your  accent 

74  betrays  you!"  At  this  he  broke  out  cursing  and  swearing, 
"I  do  not  know  the  man."    At  that  moment  a  cock  crowed. 

75  Then  Peter  remembered  what  Jesus  had  said,  that  'before 
the  cock  crows  you  will  disown  me  three  times.'  And  he 
went  outside  and  wept  bitterly. 


O'y  When   morning  came,   all   the  high   priests   and  the 
^  I    elders  of  the  people  took  counsel  against  Jesus,  so  as 

2  to  have  him  put  to  death.  After  binding  him,  they  led  him 
off  and  handed  him  over  to  Pontius  Pilate  the  governor. 

3  Then  Judas  his  betrayer  saw  he  was  condemned,  and 
repented;   he  brought  back  the  thirty  silver  pieces  to  the 

4  high  priests  and  elders,  saying,  "I  did  wrong  in  betraying 
innocent  blood."    "What  does  that  matter  to  us?"  they  said, 

5  "it  is  your  affair,  not  ours!"  Then  he  flung  down  the 
silver  pieces  in  the  temple  and  went  off  and  hung  himself. 

6  The  high  priests  took  the  money  and  said,  "It  would  be 
wrong  to  put  this  into  the  treasury,  for  it  is  the  price  of 

7  blood."    So  after  consulting  they  bought  with  it  the  Potter's 

8  Field,  to  serve  as  a  burying-place  for  strangers.  That  is 
why  the  field  is  called  to  this  day  "The  Field  of  Blood." 

9  Then  the  word  spoken  by  the  prophet  Jeremiah  was  ful- 
filled: and  I  took  the  thirty  silver  pieces,  the  price  of  him 
who  had  been  priced,  whom  they  had  priced  and  expelled 


48  S.  MATTHEW  XXVII 

10  from  the  sons  of  Israel;  and  I  gave  them  for  the  potter's 
field,  as  the  Lord  had  bidden  me. 

11  Now  Jesus  stood  before  the  governor,  and  the  governor 
asked  him,  "Are  you  the  king  of  the  Jews?"    Jesus  replied, 

12  "Certainly."     But  while  he  was  being  accused  by  the  high 

13  priests  and  elders,  he  made  no  reply.  Then  Pilate  said  to 
him,   "Do  you  not  hear  all   their  evidence  against  you?" 

14  But,  to  Pilate's  great  astonishment,  he  would  not  answer 
him  a  single  word. 

15  At  festival  time  the  governor  was  in  the  habit  of  releasing 

16  any  one  prisoner  whom  the  crowd  chose.    At  that  time  they 

17  had  a  notorious  prisoner  called  Jesus*  Bar- Abbas  ^  so,  when 
they  had  gathered,  Pilate  said  to  them,  "Who  do  you  want 
released?    Jesus  Bar-Abbas  or  Jesus  the  so-called  'Christ'?" 

18  (He  knew  quite  well  that  Jesus  had  been  delivered  up  out 

19  of  envy.  Besides,  when  he  was  seated  on  the  tribunal,  his 
wife  had  sent  to  tell  him,  "Do  nothing  with  that  innocent 
man,  for  I  have  suffered  greatly  to-day  in  a  dream  about 

20  him.")      But   the   high    priests    and   elders   persuaded    the 

21  crowds  to  ask  Bar-Abbas  and  to  have  Jesus  killed.  The 
governor  said  to  them,   "Which  of  the  two  do  you  want 

22  me  to  release  for  you?"  "Bar-Abbas,"  they  said.  Pilate 
said,    "Then   what   am   I    to    do    with    Jesus    the    so-called 

23  'Christ'?"  They  all  said,  "Have  him  crucified!"  "Why," 
said  the  governor,  "what  has  he  done  wrong?"  But  they 
shouted  on  more  fiercely  than  ever,  "Have  him  crucified!" 

24  Now  when  Pilate  saw  that  instead  of  him  doing  any  good 
a  riot  was  rising,  he  took  some  water  and  washed  his  hands 
in  presence  of  the  crowd,  saying,  "I  am  innocent  of  this 

25  good  man's  blood.  It  is  your  affair!"  To  this  all  the 
people  replied,  "His  blood  be  on  us  and  on  our  children!" 

26  Then  he  released  Bar-Abbas  for  them;  Jesus  he  scourged 
and  handed  over  to  be  crucified. 

27  Then  the  soldiers  of  the  governor  took  Jesus  into  the  prae- 

28  torium  and  got  all  the  regiment  round  him;  they  stripped 

29  him  and  threw  a  scarlet  mantle  round  him,  plaited  a  crown 
of  thorns  and  set  it  on  his  head,  put  a  stick  in  his  hand, 
and  knelt  before  him  in  mockery,  crying,  "Hail,  king  of  the 

30  Jews!"     They  spat  on  him,  they  took  the  stick  and  struck 

31  him  on  the  head,  and  after  making  fun  of  him  they  stripped 
him  of  the  mantle,  put  on  his  own  clothes,  and  took  him 

32  off  to  be  crucified.    As  they  went  out  they  met  a  Cyrenian 

33  called  Simon,  whom  they  forced  to  carry  his  cross.    When 

*  Adding  here  and  in  the  following  verse  ''lv<^ovp  with  the  Sinaitic 
(and  Palestinian)  Syriac  version,  some  good  minuscules,  and  man- 
uscripts known  to  Origen.  The  evidence  is  discussed  in  Professor 
Burkitt's  Evangelion  da-Mepharreshe,  ii.  277  f. 


S.  MATTHEW  XXVII  49 

they  came  to  a  place  called  Golgotha   (meaning  the  place 

34  of  a  skull),   they  gave  him  a  drink  of  wine  mixed  loith 

35  bitters;  but  when  he  tasted  it  he  would  not  drink  it.  Then 
they  crucified  him,  distriMited  his  clothes  among  them  by 

36  draioing  lots,  and  sat  down  there  to  keep  watch  over  him. 

37  They  also  put  over  his  head  his  charge  in  writing, 

THIS    IS    JESUS    THE   KING   OF   THE   JEWS. 

38  Two  robbers  were  also  crucified  with  him  at  that  time,  one 

39  on  the  right  hand  and  one  on  the  left.     Those  who  passed 

40  by  scoffed  at  him,  nodding  at  him  in  derision  and  calling, 
"You  were  to  destroy  the  temple  and  build  it  in  three  days! 
Save  yourself,  if  you  are  God's  Son!     Come  down  from  the 

41  cross!"  So,  too,  the  high  priests  made  fun  of  him  with  the 

42  scribes  and  the  elders  of  the  people.  "He  saved  others," 
they  said,  "but  he  cannot  save  himself!  He  the  'King  of 
Israel'!     Let  him  come  down  now  from  the  cross;  then  we 

43  will  believe  in  him!  His  trust  is  in  Godf  Let  God  deliver 
him  now  if  he  cares  for  him!    He  said  he  was  the  Son  of 

44  God!"  The  robbers  who  were  crucified  with  him  also  de- 
nounced him  in  the  same  way. 

45  Now  from  twelve  o'clock  to  three  o'clock  darkness  covered 

46  all  the  land,  and  about  three  o'clock  Jesus  gave  a  loud  cry, 
''Eli,   eli,   lema  sahachthani"    (that  is,   My  God,  my  God, 

47  why  hast  thou  forsaken  me?)      On  hearing  this  some  of 

48  the  bystanders  said,  "He  is  calling  for  Elijah."  One  of 
them  ran  off  at  once  and  took  a  sponge,  which  he  soaked 
in   vinegar   and   put   on   the   end   of   a   stick  to   give   him 

49  a  drink.  But  the  others  said,  "Stop,  let  us  see  if  Elijah 
does  come  to  save  him!"     [Seizing  a  lance,  another  pricked 

50  his  side,  and  out  came  water  and  blood.]  Jesus  again  uttered 

51  a  loud  scream  and  gave  up  his  spirit.  And  the  curtain 
of  the  temple  was  torn  in  two  from  top  to  bottom,  the  earth 

52  shook,  the  rocks  were  split,  the  tombs  were  opened,  and  a 
number  of  bodies  of  the  saints  who  slept  the  sleep  of  death 

53  rose  up — they  left  the  tombs  after  his  resurrection  and 
entered  the  holy  city  and  appeared  to  a  number  of  people. 

54  Now  when  the  army-captain  and  his  men  who  were  watch- 
ing Jesus  saw  the  earthquake  and  all  that  happened,  they 
were  dreadfully  afraid;  they  said,  "This  man  was  certainly 

55  a  son  of  God!"  There  were  also  a  number  of  women  there 
looking  on  from  a  distance,  women  who  had  followed  Jesus 

56  from  Galilee  and  waited  on  him,  including  Mary  of  Mag- 
dala,  Mary  the  mother  of  James  and  Joseph,  and  the  mother 
of  the  sons  of  Zebedaeus. 

57  Now  when  evening  came,  a  rich  man  from  Arimathaea, 

58  called  Joseph,  who  had  become  a  disciple  of  Jesus,  went  to 
Pilate  and  asked  him  for  the  body  of  Jesus.     Pilate  then 


50  S.  MATTHEW  XXVIII 

59  ordered  the  body  to  be  handed  over  to  him.    So  Joseph  took 

60  the  body,  wrapped  it  in  clean  linen,  and  put  it  in  his  new 
tomb,  which  he  had  cut  in  the  rock;  then,  after  rolling  a 
large  boulder  to  the  opening  of  the  tomb,  he  went  away. 

61  Mary  of  Magdala  and  the  other  Mary  were  there,  sitting 
opposite  the  tomb. 

62  Next  day  (that  is,  on  the  day  after  the  Preparation)  the 

63  high  priests  and  Pharisees  gathered  round  Pilate  and  said, 
"We  remember,  sir,  that  when  this  impostor  was  alive  he 

64  said,  'I  will  rise  after  three  days.'  Now  then,  give  orders 
for  the  tomb  to  be  kept  secure  till  the  third  day,  in  case  his 
disciples  go  and  steal  him  and  then  tell  the  people,  'He 
has  risen  from  the  dead.'     The  end  of  the  fraud  will  then 

65  be  worse  than  the  beginning  of  it."  Pilate  said  to  them, 
"Take  a  guard  of  soldiers,  go  and  make  it  as  secure  as  you 

QQ  can."  So  off  they  went  and  made  the  tomb  secure  by  put- 
ting a  seal  on  the  boulder  and  setting  the  guard. 


OQ  At  the  close  of  the  sabbath,  as  the  first  day  of  the 
^O  week  was  dawning,  Mary  of  Magdala  and  the  other 

2  Mary  went  to  look  at  the  tomb.  But  a  great  earthquake 
took  place;  an  angel  of  the  Lord  came  down  from  heaven 

3  and  went  and  rolled  away  the  boulder  and  sat  on  it.  His 
appearance  was  like  lightning  and  his  raiment  white  as 

4  snow.    For  fear  of  him  the  sentries  shook  and  became  like 

5  dead  men;  but  the  angel  addressed  the  women,  saying, 
"Have  no  fear;   I  know  you  are  looking  for  the  crucified 

6  Jesus.    He  is  not  here,  he  has  risen,  as  he  told  you  he  would. 

7  See,  here  is  the  place  where  he  [the  Lord]  lay.  Now  be  quick 
and  go  to  his  disciples,  tell  them  he  has  risen  from  the  dead 
and  that  'he  precedes  you  to  Galilee;    you  shall  see  him 

8  there.'  That  is  my  message  for  you."  Then  they  ran  quickly 
from  the  tomb  in  fear  and  great  joy,  to  announce  the  news 

9  to  his  disciples.  And  Jesus  himself  met  them,  saying, 
"Kail!"     So  they  went  up  to  him  and  caught  hold  of  his 

10  feet  and  worshipped  him;  then  Jesus  said  to  them,  "Have 
no  fear!  Go  and  tell  my  brothers  to  leave  for  Galilee; 
they  shall  see  me  there." 

11  While  they  were  on  their  way,  some  of  the  sentries  went 
into  the  city  and  reported  all  that  had  taken  place  to  the 

12  high  priests,  who,  after  meeting  and  conferring  with  the 
elders,  gave  a  considerable  sum  of  money  to  the  soldiers 

13  and  told  them  to  say  that  "his  disciples  came  at  night  and 

14  stole  him  when  we  were  asleep."  "If  this  comes  to  the 
ears  of  the  governor,"  they  added,  "we  will  satisfy  him  and 

15  see  that  you  have  no  trouble  about  the  matter."  So  the 
soldiers  took  the  money  and  followed  their  instructions; 


S.  MATTHEW  XXVIII 

and  this  story  has  been  disseminated  among  the  Jews  down 
to  the  present  day. 

16  Now  the  eleven  disciples  went  to  Galilee,  to  the  hill  where 

17  Jesus  had  arranged  to  meet  them.     When  they  saw  him 

18  they  worshipped  him,  though  some  were  in  doubt.  Then 
Jesus  came  forward  to  them  and  said,  "Full  authority  has 

19  been  given  to  me  in  heaven  and  on  earth;  go  and  make 
disciples  of  all  nations,  baptize  them  in  the  name  of  the 

20  Father  and  the  Son  and  the  holy  Spirit,  and  teach  them  to 
obey  all  the  commands  I  have  laid  on  you.  And  I  will  be 
with  you  all  the  time,  to  the  very  end  of  the  world." 


THE  GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO 

S.  MARK 

IThe    beginning   of    the    gospel    of   Jesus    Christ    [the 
Son  of  God]. 

2  As  it  is  written  in  the  prophet  Isaiah, 
Here  I  send  my  messenger  "before  your  -face 

to  prepare  the  way  for  you: 

3  the  voice  of  one  who  cries  in  the  desert, 

'Make  the  way  ready  for  the  Lord, 
level  the  paths  for  him'' — 

4  John   appeared  baptizing  in  the   desert  and  preaching  a 

5  baptism  of  repentance  for  the  remission  of  sins;  and  the 
whole  of  Judaea  and  all  the  people  of  Jerusalem  went  out 
to  him  and  got  baptized  by  him  in  the  Jordan  river,  con- 

6  fessing  their  sins.  John  was  dressed  in  camel's  hair,  with 
a  leather  girdle  round  his  loins,  and  he  ate  locusts  and 

7  wild  honey.     He  announced, 

"After  me  one  who  is  mightier  will  come, 

and  I  am  not  fit  to  stoop  and  untie  the  string  of  his 
sandals: 

8  I  have  baptized  you  with  water, 

but  he  will  baptize  you  with  the  holy  Spirit." 

9  Now  it  was  in  those  days  that  Jesus  arrived  from 
Nazaret  in  Galilee  and  got  baptized  in  the  Jordan  by  John. 

10  And  the  moment  he  rose  from  the  water  he  saw  the 
heavens  cleft  and  the  Spirit  coming  down  upon  him  like  a 

11  dove;  then  said  a  voice  from  heaven, 

'Thou  art  my  Son,  the  Beloved, 
in  thee  is  my  delight.' 

12  Then  the  Spirit  drove  him  immediately  into  the  desert, 

13  and  in  the  desert  he  remained  for  forty  days,  while  Satan 
tempted  him;  he  was  in  the  company  of  wild  beasts,  but 
angels  ministered  to  him. 

14  After    John    had    been    arrested    Jesus    went    to    Galilee 

15  preaching  the  gospel  of  God;  he  said,  "The  time  has  now 
come,  God's  reign  is  near:  repent  and  believe  in  the 
gospel." 

16  Now  as  he  passed  along  the  sea  of  Galilee  he  saw  Simon 
and  Simon's  brother  Andrew  netting  fish  in  tbe  sea — for 

17  they  were  fishermen;  so  Jesus  said  to  them,  "Come,  follow 

62 


S.  MARK     I  53 

18  me  and   I   will  make  you   fish   for  men."     At  once   they 

19  dropped  their  nets  and  went  after  him.  Then  going  on  a 
little  further  he  saw  James  the  son  of  Zebedaeus  and  his 
brother  John;   they  too  were  in  their  boat,  mending  their 

20  nets;  he  called  them  at  once,  and  they  left  their  father 
Zebedaeus  in  the  boat  with  the  crew  and  went  to  follow 
him. 

21  They  then  entered  Capharnahum.  As  soon  as  the  sab- 
bath came,  he  at  once  began  to  teach  in  the  synagogue; 

22  and  they  were  astounded  at  his  teaching,  for  he  taught 

23  them  like  an  authority,  not  like  the  scribes.  Now  there 
was  a  man  with  an  unclean  spirit  in  their  synagogue,  who 

24  at  once  shrieked  out,  "Jesus  of  Nazaret,  what  business 
have  you  with  us?     Have  you  come  to  destroy  us?     We 

25  know  who  you  are,  you  are  God's  holy  One."     But  Jesus 

26  checked  it;  "Be  quiet,"  he  said,  "come  out  of  him."  And 
after  convulsing  him  the  unclean  spirit  did  come  out  of 

27  him  with  a  loud  cry.  Then  they  were  all  so  amazed  that 
they  discussed  it  together,  saying,  "Whatever  is  this?" 
"It's  new  teaching  with  authority  behind  it!"     "He  orders 

28  even  unclean  spirits!"  "Yes,  and  they  obey  him!"  So 
his  fame  at  once  spread  in  all  directions  through  the  whole 
of  the  surrounding  country  of  Galilee. 

29  On  leaving  the  synagogue  they  went  straight  to  the  house 
of  Simon  and  Andrew,  accompanied  by  James  and  John. 

30  Simon's  mother-in-law  was  in  bed  with  fever,  so  they  told 

31  him  at  once  about  her,  and  he  went  up  to  her  and  taking 
her  hand  made  her  rise;    the  fever  left  her  at  once  and 

32  she  ministered  to  them.  Now  when  evening  came,  when 
the  sun  set,  they  brought  him  all  who  were  ill  or  possessed 

33  by  daemons — indeed  the  whole  town  was  gathered  at  the 

34  door — and  he  cured  many  who  were  ill  with  various  dis- 
eases and  cast  out  many   daemons;    but  as  the   daemons 

35  knew  him  he  would  not  let  them  say  anything.  Then  in 
the  early  morning,  long  before  daylight,  he  got  up  and  went 

36  away  out  to  a  lonely  spot.     He  was  praying  there  when 

37  Simon  and  his  companions  hunted  him  out  and  dis- 
covered him;    they   told  him,   "Everybody   is   looking  for 

38  you,"  but  he  said  to  them,  "Let  us  go  somewhere  else,  to 
the  adjoining  country-towns,  so  that  I  may  preach  there  as 

39  well;  that  is  why  I  came  out  here."  And  he  went 
preaching  in  their  synagogues  throughout  the  whole  of 
Galilee,  casting  out  daemons. 

40  A  leper  came  to  him  beseeching  him  on  bended  knee,  say- 

41  ing,  "If  you  only  choose,  you  can  cleanse  me;"  so  he 
stretched  his  hand  out  in  pity  and  touched  him   saying, 

42  "I  do  choose,  be  cleansed."     And  the  leprosy  at  once  left 

43  him  and  he  was  cleansed.     Then  he  sent  him  off  at  once 


54  S.  MARK  II 

44  with  the  stern  charge,  "See,  you  are  not  to  say  a  word  to 
anybody;  away  and  show  yourself  to  the  priest  and  offer 
what  Moses  prescribed  for  your  cleansing,  to  notify  men." 

45  But  he  went  off  and  proceeded  to  proclaim  it  aloud  and 
spread  news  of  the  affair  both  far  and  wide.  The  result 
was  that  Jesus  could  no  longer  enter  any  town  openly; 
he  stayed  outside  in  lonely  places,  and  people  came  to 
him  from  every  quarter. 

2  When  he  entered  Capharnahum  again  after  some  days 
it  was  reported  that  he  was  at  home,  and  a  large 
number  at  once  gathered,  till  there  was  no  more  room  for 
them,  not  even  at  the  door.     He  was  speaking  the  word  to 

3  them,   when   a  paralytic  was  brought  to   him;    four  men 

4  carried  him,  and  as  they  could  not  get  near  Jesus  on 
account  of  the  crowd  they  tore  up  the  roof  under  which 
he  stood  and  through  the  opening  they  lowered  the  pallet 

5  on  which  the  paralytic  lay.  When  Jesus  saw  their  faith, 
he    said    to    the    paralytic,    "My    son,    your    sins    are    for- 

6  given."     Now  there  were  some   scribes  sitting  there  who 

7  argued  in  their  hearts,  "What  does  the  man  mean  by  talk- 
ing like  this?     It  is  blasphemy!      Who  can  forgive  sins, 

8  who  but  God  alone?"  Conscious  at  once  that  they  were 
arguing    to    themselves    in   this    way,    Jesus    asked    them, 

9  "Why  do  you  argue  thus  in  your  hearts?  Which  is  the 
easier  thing,  to  tell  the  paralytic,  'Your  sins  are  forgiven,' 

10  or  to  tell  him,  'Rise,  lift  your  pallet,  and  go  away'?    But  to 

let  you  see  the  Son  of  man  has  power  on  earth  to  forgive 

1.1  sins" — he  said  to  the  paralytic,  "Rise,  I  tell  you,  lift  your 

12  pallet,  and  go  home."  And  he  rose,  lifted  his  pallet  at 
once,  and  went  off  before  them  all;  at  this  they  were  all 
amazed  and  glorified  God  saying,  "We  never  saw  the  like 
of  it!" 

13  Then  he  went  out  again  by  the  seaside,  and  all  the  crowd 

14  came  to  him  and  he  taught  them.  As  he  passed  along  he 
saw  Levi  the  son  of  Alphaeus  sitting  at  the  tax-office;  he 
said  to  him,  "Follow  me,"  and  he  rose  and  followed  him. 

15  Now  Levi  was  at  table  in  his  own  house,  and  he  had  many 
taxgatherers  and  sinners  as  guests  along  with  Jesus  and 
his    disciples — for   there   were   many   of   them   among   his 

16  followers.  So  when  some  scribes  of  the  Pharisees  saw  he 
was  eating  with  sinners  and  taxgatherers  they  said  to  his 
disciples,  "Why  does  he  eat  and  drink  with  taxgatherers 

17  and  sinners?"  On  hearing  this,  Jesus  said  to  them, 

"Those  who  are  strong  have  no  need  of  a  doctor,  but  those 
who  are  ill: 
I  have  not  come  to  call  just  men  but  sinners." 

18  As  the  disciples  of  John  and  of  the  Pharisees  were  ob- 


S.  MARK  III  55 

serving  a  fast,  people  came  and  asked  him,  "Why  do  John's 
disciples  and  the  disciples  of  the  Pharisees  fast,  and  your 

19  disciples  do  not  fast?"    Jesus  said  to  them, 

"Can  friends  at  a  wedding  fast  while  the  bridegroom  is 
beside  them? 
As  long  as  they  have  the  bridegroom  beside  them  they 
cannot  fast. 

20  A  time  will  come  when  the  bridegroom  is  taken  from 

them;  then  they  will  fast,  on  that  day. 

21  No  one  stitches  a  piece  of  undressed  cloth  on  an  old 

coat, 
otherwise  the  patch  breaks  away,  the  new  from  the 

old, 
and  the  tear  is  made  worse: 

22  no  one  pours  fresh  wine  into  old  wineskins, 

otherwise  the  wine  will  burst  the  wineskins, 
and  both  wine  and  wineskins  are  ruined."* 

23  Now  it  happened  that  he  was  passing  through  the  corn- 
fields on  the  sabbath,  and  as  the  disciples  made  their  way 

24  through  they  began  to  pull  the  ears  of  corn.  The  Pharisees 
said  to  him,  "Look  at  what  they  are  doing  on  the  sabbath! 

25  That  is  not  allowed."  He  said  to  them,  "Have  you  never 
read  what  David  did  when  he  was  in  need  and  hungry, 

26  he  and  his  men?  He  went  into  the  house  of  God  (Abiathar 
was  high  priest  then)  and  ate  the  loaves  of  the  Presence 
which  no  one  except  the  priests  is  allowed  to  eat,  and  also 

27  shared  them  with  his  followers."    And  he  said  to  them, 

"The    sabbath    was    made    for    man,    not    man    for    the 
sabbath : 

28  so  that  the  Son  of  man  is  Lord  even  over  the  sabbath." 

3  Again  he  entered  a  synagogue.     Now  a  man  was  there 
whose  hand  was  withered,  and  they  watched  to  see  if 
he  would  heal  him  on  the  sabbath,  so  as  to  get  a  charge 

3  against  him.     He  said  to  the  man  with  the  withered  hand, 

4  "Rise  and  come  forward;"  then  he  asked  them,  "Is  it  right 
to  help  or  to  hurt  on  the  sabbath,  to  save  life  or  to  kill?" 

5  They  were  silent.  Then  glancing  round  him  in  anger  and 
vexation  at  their  obstinacy  he  told  the  man,  "Stretch  out 
your  hand."     He  stretched  it  out  and  his  hand  was  quite 

6  restored.  On  this  the  Pharisees  withdrew  and  at  once 
joined  the  Herodians  in  a  plot  against  him,  to  destroy 
him. 

7  Jesus  retired  with  his  disciples  to  the  sea,  and  a  large 
number  of  people  from  Galilee  followed  him;  also  a  large 

*  Omitting  dXXa  ohova  viov  els  aaKoiis  Kaivo^s,  a  harmonistic  addition 
from  the  parallel  passage  in  Luke  v.  38  and  Matthew  ix.  17. 


56  S.  MARK  III 

8  number  came  to  him  from  Judaea,  Jerusalem,  Idumaea,  the 
other  side  of  the  Jordan,  and  the  neighbourhood  of  Tyre 

9  and  Sidon,  as  they  had  heard  of  his  doings.     So  he  told  his 
disciples  to  have  a  small  boat  ready;    it  was  to  prevent 

10  him  being  crushed  by  the  crowd,  for  he  healed  so  many 
that  all  who  had  complaints  were  pressing  on  him  to  get 

11  a  touch  of  him.  And  whenever  the  unclean  spirits  saw 
him  they  fell  down  before  him,  screaming,  "You  are  the 

12  Son  of  God!"  But  he  charged  them  strictly  and  severely 
not  to  make  him  known. 

13  Then  he  went  up  the  hillside  and  summoned  the  men  he 

14  wanted,  and  they  went  to  him.     He  appointed  twelve  to  be 

15  with  him,  also  that  he  might  despatch  them  to  preach  with 

16  the    power    of    casting    out    daemons;    there    was    Simon, 

17  whom  he  surnamed  Peter,  James  the  son  of  Zebedaeus  and 
'  John  the  brother  of  James  (he  surnamed  them  Boanerges, 

18  or  "Sons  of  thunder"),  Andrew,  Philip,  Bartholomew,  Mat- 
thew,   Thomas,    James    the    son   of    Alphaeus,    Thaddaeus, 

19  Simon  the  zealot,  and  Judas  Iscariot  who  betrayed  him. 

20  Then  they  went  indoors,  but  the  crowd  gathered  again, 

21  so  that  it  was  impossible  even  to  have  a  meal.  And  when 
his  family  heard  this,  they  set  out  to  get  hold  of  him,  for 

22  what  they  said  was,  "He  is  out  of  his  mind."  But  the 
scribes  who  had  come  down  from  Jerusalem  said,  "He  has 
Beelzebul,"  and  "It  is  by  the  prince  of  daemons  that  he 

23  casts  out  daemons."  So  he  called  them  and  said  to  them 
by  way  of  parable,  "How  can  Satan  cast  out  Satan? 

24  If  a  realm  is  divided  against  itself, 

that  realm  cannot  stand: 

25  if  a  household  is  divided  against  itself, 

that  household  cannot  stand: 

26  and  if  Satan  has  risen  against  himself  and  is  divided, 

he  cannot  stand,  he  comes  to  an  end. 

27  No  one  can  enter  the  strong  man's  house  and  plunder 
his  goods  unless  first  of  all  he  binds  the  strong  man;  then 

28  he  can  plunder  his  house.     I  tell  you  truly, 

the  sons  of  men  shall  be  forgiven  all  their  sins, 
and  all  the  blasphemies  they  may  utter, 

29  but    whoever   blasphemes   against    the   holy   Spirit    is 

never  forgiven, 
he  is  guilty  of  an  eternal  sin." 

30  (This  was  because  they  said,  "He  has  an  unclean  spirit.") 

31  Then  came  his  brothers  and  his  mother,  and  standing  out- 

32  side  they  sent  to  call  him;  there  was  a  crowd  sitting  round 
him,  and  he  was  told,  "Here  are  your  mother  and  brothers 

33  and  sisters  wanting  you  outside."     He  replied,  "Who  are 

34  my  mother  and  my  brothers?"  And  glancing  at  those  who 
were  sitting  round  him  in  a  circle  he  said,  "There  are  my 


S.  MARK  IV  57 

S5  mother  and  my  brothers!  Whoever  does  the  will  of  God, 
that  is  my  brother  and  sister  and  mother." 

4  Once  more  he  proceeded  to  teach  by  the  seaside,  and  a 
huge  crowd  gathered  round  him;   so  he  entered  a  boat 
on  the  sea  and  sat  down,  while  all  the  crowd  stayed  on 

2  shore.    He  gave  them  many  lessons  in  parables,  and  said  to 

3  them  in  the  course  of  his  teaching:  "Listen,  a  sower  went 

4  out  to  sow,  and  as  he  sowed  it  chanced  that  some  seed  fell 

5  on  the  road,  and  the  birds  came  and  ate  it  up;  some  other 
seed  fell  on  stony  soil  where  it  had  not  much  earth,  and 

6  it  shot  up  at  once  because  it  had  no  depth  of  earth,  but 
when   the   sun   rose   it  got   scorched   and   withered  away, 

7  because  it  had  no  root;  some  other  seed  fell  among  thorns, 
and  the  thorns  sprang  up  and  choked  it,  so  it  bore  no  crop; 

8  some  other  seed  fell  on  good  soil  and  bore  a  crop  that 
sprang  up  and  grew,  yielding  at  the  rate  of  thirty,  sixty, 

9  and  a  hundredfold."    He  added,  "Anyone  who  has  ears  to 
hear,  let  him  listen  to  this." 

10  When  he  was  by  himself  his  adherents  and  the  twelve 

11  asked  him  about  the  parable,  and  he  said  to  them:  "The 
open  secret  of  the  Realm  of  God  is  granted  to  you,  but 
these  outsiders  get  everything  by  way  of  parables,  so  that 

12  for  all  their  seeing  they  may  not  perceive, 

and  for  all  their  hearing  they  may  not  understand, 
lest  they  turn  and  6e  forgiven." 

13  And  he  said  to  them,  "You  do  not  understand  this  parable? 

14  Then  how  are  you  to  understand  the  other  parables?    The 

15  sower  sows  the  word.  As  for  those  'on  the  road,*  when 
the  seed  is  sown  there — as  soon  as  they  hear  it,  Satan  at 
once  comes  and  carries  off  the  word  sown  within  them. 

16  Similarly  those  who  are  sown  'on  stony  soil'  are  the  people 

17  who  on  hearing  the  word  accept  it*  witn  enthusiasm;  but 
they  have  no  root  in  themselves,  they  do  not  last;  the 
next  thing  is  that  when  the  word  brings  trouble  or  persecu- 

18  tion,   they  are   at  once   repelled.     Another   set   are   those 

19  who  are  sown  'among  thorns';  they  listen  to  the  word,  but 
the  worries  of  the  world  and  the  delight  of  being  rich  and 
all  the  other  passions  come  in  to  choke  the  word;    so  it 

20  proves  unfruitful.  As  for  those  who  were  sown  'on  good 
soil,'  these  are  the  people  who  listen  to  the  word  and  take 
it  in  and  bear  fruit  at  the  rate  of  thirty,  sixty,  and  a 
hundredfold." 

21  He  also  said  to  them, 

*  Omitting  evdis  with  D,  the  Sinaitic  Syriac,  some  manuscripts  of 
the  Old  Latin,  etc.  The  tendency  was  to  add  Mark's  ^vdis  rather  than 
omit  it,  especially  when  it  occurred  as  here  in  the  Matthew-parallel 
(xiji.  20). 


58  S.  MARK  V 

"Is  a  lamp  brought  to  be  placed  under  a  bowl  or  a  bed? 
Is  it  not  to  be  placed  upon  the  stand? 
22      Nothing  is  hidden  except  to  be  disclosed, 
nothing  concealed  except  to  be  revealed. 
1^    If  anyone  has  an  ear  to  hear,  let  him  listen  to  this."    Also 
he  said  to  them,  "Take  care  what  you  hear;  the  measure 
you  deal  out  to  others  will  be  dealt  out  to  yourselves,  and 
you  will  receive  extra. 

25  For  he  who  has,  to  him  shall  more  be  given; 

while  as  for  him  who  has  not,  from  him  shall  be  taken 
even  what  he  has." 

26  And  he  said,  "It  is  with  the  Realm  of  God  as  when  a 

27  man  has  sown  seed  on  earth;  he  sleeps  at  night  and  rises 
by  day,  and  the  seed  sprouts  and  shoots  up — he  knows  not 

28  how.  (For  the  earth  bears  crops  by  itself,  the  blade  first, 
the  ear  of  corn  next,  and  then  the  grain  full  in  the  ear.) 

29  But  whenever  the  crop  is  ready,  he  has  the  sickle  put  in  at 

30  once,  as  harvest  has  come."     He  said  also, 

"To  what  can  we  compare  the  Realm  of  God? 
how  are  we  to  put  it  in  a  parable? 

31  It  is  like  a  grain  of  mustard-seed^less  than  any  seed  on 

32  earth  when  it  is  sown  on  earth;  but  once  sown  it  springs 
up  to  be  larger  than  any  plant,  throwing  out  such  big 
branches  that  the  wild  birds  can  roost  under  its  shadow." 

33  In  many  a  parable  like  this  he  spoke  the  word  to  them,  so 

34  far  as  they  could  listen  to  it;  he  never  spoke  to  them 
except  by  way  of  parable,  but  in  private  he  explained  every- 
thing to  his  own  disciples. 

35  That  same   day   when  evening  came  he  said  to  them, 

36  "Let  us  cross  to  the  other  side;"  so,  leaving  the  crowd, 
they  took  him  just  as  he  was  in  the  boat,  accompanied  by 

37  some  other  boats.  But  a  heavy  squall  of  wind  came  on, 
and   the   waves   splashed   into   the  boat,   so  that  the  boat 

38  filled.  He  was  sleeping  on  the  cushion  in  the  stern,  so  they 
woke  him  up  saying,  "Teacher,  are  we  to  drown,  for  all 

39  you  care?"  And  he  woke  up,  checked  the  wind,  and  told 
the  sea,  "Peace,  be  quiet."     The  wind  fell  and  there  was 

40  a  great  calm.    Then  he  said  to  them,  "Why  are  you  afraid 

41  like  this?  Have  you  no  faith  yet?"  But  they  were  over- 
awed and  said  to  each  other,  "Whatever  can  he  be,  when 
the  very  wind  and  sea  obey  him?" 


2  ^  country  of  the  Gerasenes.  And  as  soon  as  he  stepped  out 
of  the  boat  a  man  from  the  tombs  came  to  meet  him,  a  man 

3  with  an  unclean  spirit  who  dwelt  among  the  tombs;  by  this 

4  time  no  one  could  bind  him,   not  even  with   a  chain,  fo'- 
he  had  often  been  bound  with  fetters  and  chains  and  had 


S.  MARK  V  59 

snapped  the  chains  and  broken  the  fetters — nobody  could 

5  tame  him.     All  night  and  day  among  the  tombs  and  the 

6  hills   he    shrieked   and   gashed   himself   with    stones.     On 
catching  sight  of  Jesus  from  afar  he  ran  and  knelt  before 

7  him,  shrieking  aloud,  "Jesus,  son  of  God  most  High,  what 
business  have  you  with  me?    By  God,  I  adjure  you,  do  not 

8  torture  me."      (For  he  had  said,  "Come  out  of  the  man, 

9  you   unclean  spirit.")      Jesus   asked  him,   "What   is  your 

10  name?"  "Legion,"  he  said,  "there  is  a  host  of  us."  And 
they  begged  him  earnestly  not  to  send  them  out  of  the 

11  country.    Now  a  large  drove  of  swine  was  grazing  there  on 

12  the  hillside;   so  the  spirits  begged  him  saying,  "Send  us 

13  into  the  swine,  that  we  may  enter  them."  And  Jesus  gave 
them  leave.  Then  out  came  the  unclean  spirits  and  en- 
tered the  swine,  and  the  drove  rushed  down  the  steep 
slope  into  the  sea  (there  were  about  two  thousand  of  them) 

14  and  in  the  sea  they  were  drowned.  The  herdsmen  fled  and 
reported  it  to  the  town  and  the  hamlets.     So  the  people 

15  came  to  see  what  had  happened,  and  when  they  reached 
Jesus  they  saw  the  lunatic  sitting  down,  clothed  and  in  his 
sober  senses — the  man  who  had  been  possessed  by  'Legion.' 

16  That  frightened  them.  And  those  who  had  seen  it  related 
to  them  what  had  happened  to  the  lunatic  and  the  swine. 

17  Then   they   began   begging   Jesus   to   leave   their    district. 

18  As  he  was  stepping  into  the  boat  the  lunatic  begged  that 

19  he  might  accompany  him;  but  he  said,  "Go  home  to  your 
own  people,  and  report  to  them  all  the  Lord  has  done  for 

20  you  and  how  he  took  pity  on  you."  So  he  went  off  and 
began  to  proclaim  throughout  Decapolis  all  that  Jesus  had 
done  for  him;   it  made  everyone  astonished. 

21  Now  when  Jesus  had  crossed  in  the  boat  to  the  other 
side   again,    a   large   crowd    gathered    round   him;    so   he 

22  remained  beside  the  sea.  A  president  of  the  synagogue 
called  Jairus  came  up,  and  on  catching  sight  of  him  fell 

23  at  his  feet  with  earnest  entreaties.  "My  little  girl  is 
dying,"  he  said,  "do  come  and  lay  your  hands  on  her  that 

24  she  may  recover  and  live."  So  Jesus  went  away  with  him. 
Now  a  large  crowd  followed  him;  they  pressed  round  him. 

25  And  there  was  a  woman  who  had  had  a  hemorrhage  for 

26  twelve  years — she  had  suffered  a  great  deal  under  a 
number  of  doctors  and  had  spent  all  her  means  but  was 

27  none  the  better;  in  fact  she  was  rather  worse.  She  heard 
about  Jesus,  got  behind  him  in  the  crowd,  and  touched  his 

28  robe;   "if  I  can  touch  even  his  clothes,"  she  said  to  her- 

29  self,  "I  will  recover."  And  at  once  the  hemorrhage 
stopped,  and  she  felt  in  her  body  that  she  was  cured  of 

30  her  complaint.  Jesus  was  at  once  conscious  that  some 
healing  virtue  had  passed  from  him,  so  he  turned  round 


60  S.  MARK  VI 

31  in  the  crowd  and  asked,  "Who  touched  my  clothes?"  His 
disciples   said   to   him,   "You   see   the   crowd  are  pressing 

32  round  you,   and  yet  you   ask,   'Who  touched  me?' "     But 

33  he  kept  looking  round  to  see  who  had  done  it,  and  the 
woman,  knowing  what  had  happened  to  her,  came  forward 
in  fear  and  trembling  and  fell   down  before  him,  telling 

34  him  all  the  truth.  He  said  to  her,  "Daughter,  your  faith 
has  made  you  well;    go  in  peace  and  be  free  from  your 

35  complaint."  He  was  still  speaking  when  a  message  came 
from  the  house  of  the  synagogue-president,  "Your  daughter 
is  dead.     Why  trouble  the  teacher  to  come  any  further?" 

36  Instantly  Jesus  ignored  the  remark  and  told  the  president, 

37  "Have  no  fear,  only  believe."  He  would  not  allow  anyone 
to  accompany  him  except  Peter  and  James  and  John  th6 

38  brother  of  James.  So  they  reached  the  president's  house, 
where  he  saw  a  tumult  of  people  wailing  and  making  shrill 

39  lament;    and  on  entering  he  asked  them,   "Why  make  a 

40  noise  and  wail?  The  child  is  not  dead  but  asleep."  They 
laughed  at  him.  However,  he  put  them  all  outside  and 
taking  the  father  and  mother  of  the  child  as  well  as  his 
companions   he   went    in   to   where   the   child   was   lying; 

41  then  he  took  the  child's  hand  and  said  to  her,  "Talitha 
koum" — which  may  be  translated,  "Little  girl,  I  am  telling 

42  you  to  rise."  The-  girl  got  up  at  once  and  began  to  walk 
(she  was  twelve  years  old)  ;  and  at  once  they  were  lost  in 

43  utter  amazement.  But  he  strictly  forbade  them  to  let 
anyone  know  about  it,  and  told  them  to  give  her  something 
to  eat. 

6  Leaving  there  he  went  to  his  native  place,  followed  by 
his  disciples.  When  the  sabbath  came,  he  began  to  teach 
in  the  synagogue,  and  the  large  audience  was  astounded. 
"Where  did  he  get  all  this?"  they  said.  "What  is  the 
meaning  of  this  wisdom  he  is  endowed  with?     And  these 

3  miracles,  too,  that  his  hands  perform!  Is  this  not  the 
joiner,  the  son  of  Mary  and  the  brother  of  James  and  Joses 
and  Judas  and  Simon?     Are  not  his  sisters  settled  here 

4  among  us?"  So  they  were  repelled  by  him.  Then  Jesus 
said  to  them,  "A  prophet  never  goes  without  honour  except 
in   his  native   place  and   among  his  kinsfolk  and   in  his 

5  home."    There  he  could  not  do  any  miracle,  beyond  laying 

6  his  hands  on  a  few  sick  people  and  curing  them.  He  was 
astonished  at  their  lack  of  faith. 

7  Then  he  made  a  tour  round  the  villages,  teaching.  And 
summoning  the  twelve  he  proceeded  to  send  them  out  two 

8  by  two;  he  gave  them  power  over  the  unclean  spirits,  and 
ordered  them  to  take  nothing  but  a  stick  for  the  journey, 

9  no  bread,  no  wallet,  no  coppers  in  their  girdle;  they  were 


S.  MARK  VI  61 

to  wear  sandals,  but  not  to  put  on  two  shirts,  he  said. 

10  Also,   he   told   them,   "Wherever  you   enter  a  house,   stay 

11  there  till  you  leave  the  place.  And  if  any  place  will  not 
receive  you  and  the  people  will  not  listen  to  you,  shake 
off  the  very   dust  under  your  feet  when  you  leave  as  a 

12  warning  to   them."     So  they   went  out  and  preached  re- 

13  pentance;  also  they  cast  out  a  number  of  daemons  and 
cured  a  number  of  sick  people  by  anointing  them  with  oil. 

14  Now  this  came  to  the  hearing  of  king  Herod,  for  the 
name  of  Jesus  had  become  well  known;  people  said,* 
"John  the  Baptizer  has  risen  from  the  dead,  that  is  why 

15  miraculous  powers  are  working  through  him;"  others 
said,   "It  is  Elijah,"  others  again,   "It  is  a  prophet,  lik« 

16  one  of  the  old  prophets."    But  when  Herod  heard  of  it  he 

17  said,  "John  has  risen,  the  John  I  beheaded."  For  this 
Herod  had  sent  and  arrested  John  and  bound  him  in. 
prison  on  account  of  his  marriage  to  Herodias  the  wife  of 

18  his  brother  Philip;    John  had  told  Herod,  "You  have  no 

19  right  to  your  brother's  wife."  Herodias  had  a  grudge 
against  him;    she   wanted  him   killed  but   she   could   not 

20  manage  it,  for  Herod  stood  in  awe  of  John,  knowing  he 
was  a  just  and  holy  man;  so  he  protected  John — he  was 
greatly  exercised  when  he  listened  to  him,   still  he  was 

21  glad  to  listen  to  him.  Then  came  a  holiday,  when  Herod 
held  a  feast  on  his  birthday  for  his  chief  officials  and  gen- 

22  erals  and  the  notables  of  Galilee.  The  daughter  of  Hero- 
dias went  in  and  danced  to  them,  and  Herod  and  his 
guests  were  so   delighted  that  the  king  said  to  the  girl, 

23  "Ask  anything  you  like  and  I  will  give  you  it."  He  swore 
to  her,  "I  will  give  you  whatever  you  want,  were  it  the  half 

24  of  my  realm."  So  she  went  out  and  said  to  her  mother, 
"What  am  I  to  ask?"    "John  the  Baptizer's  head,"  she  an- 

25  swered.  Then  she  hurried  in  at  once  and  asked  the  king, 
saying,  "I  want  you  to  give  me  this  very  moment  John  the 

26  Baptist's  head  on  a  dish."  The  king  was  very  vexed,  but 
for  the  sake  of  his  oaths  and  his  guests  he  did  not  like  to 

27  disappoint  her;  so  the  king  at  once  sent  one  of  the  guard 
with  orders  to  bring  his  head.     The  man  went  and  be- 

28  headed  him  in  the  prison,  brought  his  head  on  a  dish,  and 
gave  it  to  the  girl;    and  the  girl  gave  it  to  her  mother. 

29  When  his  disciples  heard  of  it  they  went  and  fetched  his 
body  and  laid  it  in  a  tomb. 

30  Now  the  apostles  gathered  to  meet  Jesus  and  reported  to 

31  him  all  they  had  done  and  taught.  And  he  said  to  them, 
"Come  away  to  some  lonely  spot  and  get  a  little  rest"  (for 
there  were  many  people  coming  and  going,  and  they  could 

*  Reading  eXeyov  with  B  D  and  the  Old  Latin. 


62  S.  MARK  VI 

32  get  no  time  even  to  eat).     So  they  went  away  privately 

33  in  the  boat  to  a  lonely  spot.  However  a  number  of  people 
who  saw  them  start  and  recognized  them,  got  to  the  place 
before  them  by  hurrying  there  on  foot  from  all  the  towns. 

34  So  when  Jesus  disembarked  he  saw  a  large  crowd,  and  out 
of  pity  for  them,  as  they  were  like  sheep  without  a  shep- 

35  herd,  he  proceeded  to  teach  them  at  length.  Then,  as  the 
day  was  far  gone,  his  disciples  came  up  to  him,  saying,  "It 

36  is  a  desert  place  and  the  day  is  now  far  gone;  send  them 
off  to  the  farms  and  villages  round  about  to  buy  some  food 

37  for  themselves."  He  replied,  "Give  them  some  food,  your- 
selves."    They  said,  "Are  we  to  go  and  buy  ten   pounds' 

38  worth  of  food  and  give  them  that  to  eat?"  He  said,  "How 
many  loaves  have  you  got?    Go  and  see."    When  they  found 

39  out  they  told  him,  "Five,  and  two  fish."  Then  he  gave 
orders   that  they  were  to  make   all   the  people  lie   down 

40  in   parties   on   the   green   grass;    so   they   arranged   them- 

41  selves  in  groups  of  a  hundred  and  of  fifty.  And  he  took 
the  five  .loaves  and  the  two  fish,  and  looking  up  to  heaven 
he  blessed  them,  broke  the  loaves  in  pieces  which  he  handed 
to  the  disciples  to  set  before  them,  and  divided  the  two 

42  fish    among    them    all.      They    all    ate    and    had    enough; 

43  besides,   the  fragments  of  bread  and  of  fish  which  were 

44  picked  up  filled  twelve  baskets.  (The  number  of  men  who 
ate  the  loaves  was  five  thousand.) 

45  Then  he  made  the  disciples  at  once  embark  in  the  boat 
and    cross   before   him   towards   Bethsaida,   while   he    dis- 

46  missed  the  crowd;   and  after  saying  goodbye  to  them  he 

47  went  up  the  hill  to  pray.  Now  when  evening  came  the  boat 
was  [far  out]  in  the  middle  of  the  sea,  and  he  was  on  the 

48  land  alone;  but  when  he  saw  them  buffeted  as  they  rowed 
(for  the  wind  was  against  them)  he  went  to  them  about  the 

49  fourth  watch  of  the  night  walking  on  the  sea.  He  meant  to 
pass  them,  but  when  they  saw  him  walking  on  the  sea  they 

50  thought  it  was  a  ghost  and  shrieked  aloud — for  they  all 
saw  him  and  were  terrified.     Then  he  spoke  to  them  at 

51  once;  "Courage,"  he  said,  "it  is  I,  have  no  fear."  And  he 
got  into  the  boat  beside  them,  and  the  wind  dropped.    They 

52  were  utterly  astounded,  for  they  had  not  understood  the 
lesson  of  the  loaves;   their  minds  were  dull. 

53  On  crossing  over  they  came  to  land  at  Gennesaret  and 

54  moored  to  the  shore.    And  when  they  had  disembarked,  the 

55  people  at  once  recognized  Jesus;  they  hurried  round  all  the 
district  and  proceeded  to  carry  the  sick  on  their  pallets 

56  wherever  they  heard  that  he  was;  whatever  village  or  town 
or  hamlet  he  went  to,  they  would  lay  their  invalids  in  the 
marketplace,  begging  him  to  let  them  touch  even  the  tassel 
-of  his  robe — and  all  who  touched  him  recovered. 


S.  MARK  VII  6S 

7  Now  the  Pharisees  gathered  to  meet  him,  with  some 
scribes  who  had  come  from  Jerusalem.     They  noticed 
that   some  of  his   disciples  ate   their  food  with   'common' 

3  (that  is,  unwashed)  hands.  (The  Pharisees  and  all  the 
Jews  decline  to  eat  till  they  wash  their  hands  up  to  the 

4  wrist,  in  obedience  to  the  tradition  of  the  elders;  they 
decline  to  eat  what  comes  from  the  market  till  they  have 
washed  it;  and  they  have  a  number  of  other  traditions  to 
keep  about  washing  cups  and  jugs  and  basins  [and  beds].) 

5  Then  the  Pharisees  and  scribes  put  this  question  to  him, 
"Why  do  your  disciples  not  follow  the  tradition  of  the 
elders?      Why    do    they    take    their    food    with    'common' 

6  hands?"  He  said  to  them,  "Isaiah  made  a  grand  prophecy 
about  you  hypocrites — as  it  is  written, 

This  people  honours  me  with  their  lips, 
Mit  their  heart  is  far  away  from  me: 

7  vain  is  their  worship  of  me, 

for    the    doctrines    they    teach    are    tut    human    pre- 
cepts. 

8  You  drop  what  God  commands  and  hold  to  human  tradi- 

9  tion.*     Yes,  forsooth,"  he  added,  "you  set  aside  what  God 

10  commands,  so  as  to  maintain  your  own  tradition.  Thus, 
Moses  said,  Honour  your  father  and  mother,  and.  He  who 

11  curses  his  father  or  mother  is  to  suffer  death.  But  you 
say  that  if  a  man  tells  his  father  or  mother,  'This  money 
might  have  been  at  your  service,  but  it  is  Korban'    (that 

12  is,    dedicated  to   God),   he   is   exempt,   so  you  hold,  from 

13  doing  anything  for  his  father  or  mother.  That  is  repeal- 
ing the  word  of  God  in  the  interests  of  the  tradition  which 

14  you  keep  up.  And  you  do  many  things  like  that."  Then  he 
called  the  crowd  to  him  again  and  said  to  them,  "Listen  to 
me,  all  of  you,  and  understand  this:  — 

15  nothing  outside  a  man  can  defile  him  by  entering  him; 

it  is  what  comes  from  him  that  defiles  him. 

16  If  anyone  has  ears  to  hear,  let  him  listen  to  this." 

17  Now  when  he  went  indoors  away  from  the  crowd,  his 
disciples  asked  him  the  meaning  of  this  parabolic  saying. 

18  He  said  to  them,  "So  you  do  not  understand,  either?  Do 
you  not  see  how  nothing  outside  a  man  can  defile  him  by 

19  entering  him?  It  does  not  enter  his  heart  but  his  belly 
and  passes  from  that  into  the  drain"   (thus  he  pronounced 

20  all  food  clean).     "No,"  he  said,  "it  is  what  comes  from  a 

21  man,   that   is   what   defiles   him.     From   within,   from   the 

22  heart  of  man,  the  designs  of  evil  come:  sexual  vice,  steal- 
ing, murder,  adultery,  lust,  malice,  deceit,  sensuality,  envy- 

*  Omitting  ^aimaixovs  ^€(ttQ3v  kol  iroTrjplwv  kol  dWa  TrapSfxoia  roiaOra 


64  S.  MARK  VIII 

23  ing,  slander,  arrogance,  recklessness,  all  these  evils  issue 
from  within  and  they  defile  a  man." 

24  Leaving  there,  he  went  away  to  the  territory  of  Tyre  and 
Sidon.     He  went  into  a  house  and  wished  no  one  to  know 

25  of  it,  but  he  could  not  escape  notice;  a  woman  heard  of 
him,  whose  daughter  had  an  unclean  spirit,  and  she  came 

26  in  and  fell  at  his  feet  (the  woman  was  a  pagan,  of  Syro- 
phoenician  birth)   begging  him  to  cast  the  daemon  out  of 

27  her  daughter.  He  said  to  her,  "Let  the  children  be  satis- 
fied first  of  all;   it  is  not  fair  to  take  the  children's  bread 

28  and  throw  it  to  the  dogs."  She  answered  him,  "No,  sir, 
but  under  the  table   the   dogs   do  pick  up   the  children's 

29  crumbs."    He  said  to  her,  "Well,  go  your  way;  the  daemon 

30  has  left  your  daughter,  since  you  have  said  that."  So  she 
went  home  and  found  the  child  lying  in  bed  and  the 
daemon  gone  from  her. 

31  He  left  the  territory  of  Tyre  again  and  passed  through 
Sidon  to  the  sea  of  Galilee,  crossing  the  territory  of  Decap- 

32  olis.  And  a  deaf  man  who  stammered  was  brought  to 
him,  with  the  request  that  he  would  lay  his  hand  on  him. 

33  So  taking  him  aside  from  the  crowd  by  himself,  he  put  his 
fingers  into  the  man's  ears,  touched  his  tongue  with  saliva. 

34  and  looking   up   to   heaven  with   a   sigh  he   said  to  him, 

35  "Ephphatha"  (which  means,  Open).  Then  his  ears  were  fat 
once]  opened  and  his  tongue  freed  from  its  fetter — he  began 

36  to  speak  correctly.  Jesus  forbade  them  to  tell  anyone 
about  it,  but  the  more  he  forbade  them  the  more  eagerly 

37  they  made  it  public;  they  were  astounded  in  the  extreme, 
saying,  "How  splendidly  he  has  done  everything!  He 
actually  makes  the  deaf  hear  and  the  dumb  speak!" 

8  In  those  days,  when  a  large  crowd  had  again  gathered 
and  when  they  had  nothing  to  eat,  he  called  his  dis- 

2  ciples  and  said  to  them,  "I  am  sorry  for  the  crowd;  they 
have  been  three  days  with  me  now,  and  they  have  nothing 

3  to  eat.  If  I  send  them  home  without  food  they  will  faint 
on  the   road.      Besides,   some   of   them   have  come  a  long 

4  way."     His   disciples  replied,   "Where  can  one  get  loaves 

5  to  satisfy  them  in  a  desert  spot  like  this?"  He  asked 
them,    "How    many    loaves    have    you    got?"      They    said, 

6  "Seven."  So  he  ordered  the  crowd  to  recline  on  the 
ground,  and  taking  the  seven  loaves  he  gave  thanks,  broke 
them,  and  gave  them  to  his  disciples  to  serve  out.     They 

7  served  them  out  to  the  crowd,  and  as  they  also  had  a  few 
small  fish,  he  blessed  them  too  and  told  the  disciples  to 

8  serve  them  out  as  well.  So  the  people  ate  and  were  satis- 
fied, and  they  picked  up  seven  baskets  of  fragments  which 

S  were  left  over.     (There  were  about  four  thousand  of  them.) 


S.  MARK  VIII  65 

10  Then  he  sent  them  away,  embarked  at  once  in  the  boat 
with  his  disciples,  and  went  to  the  district  of  Dal- 
manutha. 

11  Now  the  Pharisees  came  out  and  started  to  argue  with 
him,  asking  him  for  a  Sign  from  heaven,  by  way  of  tempt- 

12  ing  him.     But  he  sighed  in  spirit  and  said, 

"Why  does  this  generation  demand  a  Sign? 

I  tell  you  truly,  no  Sign  shall  be  given  this  genera- 
tion." 

13  Then  he  left  them,  embarked  again,  and  went  away  to  the 
opposite  side. 

14  They  had  forgotten  to  bring  any  bread,  and  had  only  one 

15  loaf  with  them  in  the  boat.  So  he  cautioned  them,  "See 
and  beware  of  the  leaven  of  the  Pharisees  and  the  leaven 

16  of    Herod."      "Leaven?"    they    argued    to    themselves,    "we 

17  have  no  bread  at  all."  He  noted  this  and  said  to  them, 
"Why  do  you  argue  you  have  no  bread?  Do  you  not  see, 
do  you  not  understand,  even  yet?  Are  you  still  dull  of 
heart? 

18  You  have  eyes,  do  you  not  see? 

you  have  ears,  do  you  not  hear? 

19  Do  you  not  remember  how  many  baskets  full  of  fragments 
you  picked  up  when  I  broke  the  five  loaves  for  the  five 

20  thousand?"  They  said,  "Twelve."  "And  how  many  basket' 
fuls  of  fragments  did  you  pick  up  when  I  broke  the  seven 

21  loaves  for  the  four  thousand?"  They  said,  "Seven."  "Do 
you  not  understand  now?"  he  said. 

22  Then  they  reached  Bethsaida.    A  blind  man  was  brought 

23  to  him  with  the  request  that  he  would  touch  him.  So  he 
took  the  blind  man  by  the  hand  and  led  him  outside  the 
village;  then,  aftei'  spitting  on  his  eyes,  he  laid  his  hands 

24  on  him  and  asked  him,  "Do  you  see  anything?"  He  began 
to  see  and  said,  "I  can  make  out  people,  for  I  see  them  as 

25  large  as  trees,  moving."  At  this  he  laid  his  hands  on  his 
eyes  once  more,  and  the  man  stared  in  front  of  him;   he 

26  was  quite  restored  and  saw  everything  distinctly.  And 
Jesus  sent  him  home,  saying,  "Do  not  go  even  into  the 
village." 

27  Then  Jesus  and  his  disciples  set  off  for  the  villages  of 
Ciesarea  Philippi;  and  on  the  road  he  inquired  of  his  dis- 

28  ciples,  "Who  do  people  say  I  am?"  "John  the  Baptist," 
they  told  him,  "though  some  say  Elijah  and  others  say  you 

29  are  one  of  the  prophets."  So  he  inquired  of  them,  "And 
who    do    you    say    I    am?"      Peter    replied,    "You    are    the 

30  Christ."     Then  he  forbade  them  to  tell  anyone  about  him. 

31  And  he  proceeded  to  teach  them  that  the  Son  of  man  had 
to  endure  great  suffering,  to  be  rejected  by  the  elders  and 
the  high  priests  and  the  scribes,  to  be  killed  and  after 


9 


66  S.  MARK  IX 

32  three   days  to  rise  again;    he  spoke  of  this  quite  freely. 

33  Peter  took  him  and  began  to  reprove  him  for  it,  but  he 
turned  on  him  and  noticing  his  disciples  reproved  Peter, 
telling  him,  "Get  behind  me,  you  Satan!     Your  outlook  is 

34  not  God's  but  man's."  Then  he  called  the  crowd  to  him 
with  his  disciples  and  said  to  them,  "If  anyone  wishes  to 
follow  me,  let  him  deny  himself,  take  up  his  cross,  and  so 
follow  me; 

35  for  whoever  wants  to  save  his  life  will  lose  it, 

and  whoever  loses  his  life  for  my  sake  and  the  gospel's 
will  save  it. 

36  What  profit  is  it  for  a  man  to  gain  the  whole  world  and 

37  to  forfeit  his  soul?  What  could  a  man  offer  as  an  equiva- 
for  his  soul? 

38  Whoever  is  ashamed  of  me  and  my  words  in  this  disloyal 
and  sinful  generation,  the  Son  of  man  will  be  ashamed  of 
him  when  he  comes  in  the  glory  of  his  Father  with  the  holy 

angels.     I  tell  you  truly,"  he  said,  to  them,  "there  are 
some  of  those  standing  here  who  will  not  taste  death  till 
they  see  the  coming  of  God's  Reign  with  power." 

2  Six  days  afterwards  Jesus  took  Peter,  James  and  John, 
and  led  them  up  a  high  hill  by  themselves  alone;  in  their 

3  presence  he  was  transfigured,  and  his  clothes  glistened 
white,  vivid  white,  such  as  no  fuller  on  earth  could  bleach 

4  them.    And  Elijah  along  with  Moses  appeared  to  them,  and 

5  conversed  with  Jesus.  So  Peter  addressed  Jesus,  saying, 
"Rabbi,  it  is  a  good  thing  we  are  here;  let  us  put  up  three 

6  tents,  one  for  you,  one  for  Moses,  and  one  for  Elijah"  (for 

7  he  did  not  know  what  to  say,  they  were  so  terrified).  Then 
a  cloud  came  overshadowing  them,  and  from  the  cloud  a 
voice  said,  "This  is  my  Son,  the  Beloved,  listen  to  him." 

8  And  suddenly  looking  round  they  saw  no  one  there  except 

9  Jesus  all  alone  beside  them.  As  they  went  down  the  hill, 
he  forbade  them  to  tell  anyone  what  they  had  seen,  till 

10  such  time  as  the  Son  of  man  rose  from  the  dead.  This 
order  they  obeyed,  debating  with  themselves  what  'rising 

11  from  the  dead'  meant.  So  they  put  this  question  to  him, 
"Why  do  the  [Pharisees  and]  scribes  say  that  Elijah  has  to 

12  come  first?"  He  said  to  them,  "Elijah  does  come  first,  to 
restore  all  things;  but  what  is  written  about  the  Son  of 
man  as  well?     This,  that  he  is  to  endure  great  suffering 

13  and  be  rejected.  As  for  Elijah,  I  tell  you  he  has  come 
already,  and  they  have  done  to  him  whatever  they  pleased 

14  — as  it  is  written  of  him."  When  they  reached  the  dis- 
ciples   they    saw    a    large    crowd    round    them,    and    some 

15  scribes    arguing    with    them.      On    seeing    him    the   whole 

16  crowd   was  thunderstruck   and   ran   to   greet   him.     Jesus 

17  asked  them,  "What  are  you   discussing  with  them?"     A 


^.  MARK  IX  67 

man  from  the  crowd  answered  him,  "Teacher,  I  brought 

18  my  son  to  you;  he  has  a  dumb  spirit,  and  whenever  it 
seizes  him  it  throws  him  down,  and  he  foams  at  the 
mouth  and  grinds  his  teeth.  He  is  wasting  away  with  it; 
so  I  told  your  disciples  to  cast  it  out,  but  they  could  not." 

19  He  answered  them,  "O  faithless  generation,  how  long  must 
I  still  be  with  you?  how  long  have  I  to  bear  with  you? 

20  Bring  him  to  me."  So  they  brought  the  boy  to  him,  and 
when  the  spirit  saw  Jesus  it  at  once  convulsed  the  boy; 
he   fell  on  the   ground   and  rolled  about  foaming   at   the 

21  mouth.     Jesus  asked  his  father,  "How  long  has  he  been 

22  like  this?"  "From  childhood,"  he  said;  "it  has  thrown 
him  into  fire  and  water  many  a  time,  to  destroy  him.  If 
you   can   do   anything,   do   help  us,   do  have  pity  on  us." 

23  Jesus  said  to  him,  "'If  you  can'!     Anything  can  be  done 

24  for  one  who  believes."    At  once  the  father  of  the  boy  cried 

25  out,  "I  do  believe;  help  my  unbelief."  Now  as  Jesus  saw 
that  a  crowd  was  rapidly  gathering,  he  checked  the  un- 
clean spirit.     "Deaf  and  dumb  spirit,"  he  said,  "leave  him, 

26  I  command  you,  and  never  enter  him  again."  And  it  did 
come  out,  after  shrieking  aloud  and  convulsing  him  vio- 
lently.   The  child  turned  like  a  corpse,  so  that  most  people 

27  said,    "he   is    dead";    but,    taking   his   hand,    Jesus    raised 

28  him  and  he  got  up.  When  he  went  indoors  his  disciples 
asked  him   in  private,   "Why  could  we  not  cast  it  out?'" 

29  He  said  to  them,  "Nothing  can  make  this  kind  come  out  but 
prayer  and  fasting." 

30  On  leaving  there  they  passed  through  Galilee.     He  did 

31  not  want  anyone  to  know  of  their  journey,  for  he  was 
teaching  his  disciples,  telling  them  that  the  Son  of  man 
would  be  betrayed  into  the  hands  of  men,  that  they  would 
kill  him,  and  that  when  he  was  killed  he  would  rise  again 

32  after  three  days.  But  they  did  not  understand  what  he 
said,  and  they  were  afraid  to  ask  him  what  he  meant. 

33  Then  they  reached  Capharnahum.  And  when  he  was 
indoors  he   asked  them,   "What  were  you   arguing  about 

34  on  the  road?"  They  said  nothing,  for  on  the  road  they 
had  been  disputing  about  which  of  them  was  the  greatest. 

35  So  he  sat  down  and  called  the  twelve.  "If  anyone  wants  to 
be  first,"  he  said  to  them,  "he  must  be  last  of  all  and  the- 

36  servant  of  all."  Then  he  took  a  little  child,  set  it  among 
them,  and  putting  his  arms  round  it  said  to  them, 

37  "Whoever  receives  one  of  these  little  ones  in  my  name 

receives  me, 
and  whoever  receives  me  receives  not  me  but  him  who 
sent  me." 

38  John  said  to  him,  "Teacher,  we  saw  a  man  casting  out 
daemons  in  your  name;   but  he  does  not  follow  us,  and 


€8  S.  MARK  X 

39  so  we  stopped  him."  Jesus  said,  "Do  not  stop  him ;  no  one 
who  performs  any  miracle  in  my  name  will  be  ready  to 

40  speak  evil  of  me.     He  who  is  not  against  us  is  for  us. 

41  Whoever  gives  you  a  cup  of  water  because  you  belong  to 
Christ,  I  tell  you  truly,  he  shall  not  miss  his  reward. 

42  And  whoever  is  a  hindrance  to  one  of  these  little  ones 
who  believe,  it  were  better  for  him  to  have  a  great  mill- 
stone hung  round  his  neck  and  be  thrown  into  the  sea. 

43  If  your  hand  is  a  hindrance  to  you,  cut  it  off: 

better  be  maimed  and  get  into  Life, 

than  keep  your  two  hands  and  go  to  Gehenna,  to  the 
fire  that  is  never  quenched. 
45       If  your  foot  is  a  hindrance  to  you,  cut  it  off: 
better  get  into  Life  a  cripple, 

than  keep  your  two  feet  and  be  thrown  into  Gehenna. 

47  If  your  eye  is  a  hindrance  to  you,  tear  it  out: 

better  get  into  God's  Realm  with  one  eye, 

than    keep    your    two    eyes    and    be    thrown    into 
Gehenna, 

48  where  their  loorm  never  dies  and  the  fire  is  never 

put  out. 

49  Everyone  has  to  be  consecrated*  by  the  fire  of  the  dis- 
cipline. 

50  Salt  is  excellent: 

but   if   salt   is  tasteless,   how   are  you   to   restore   its 
flavour? 
Let  there  be  'salt  between  you'; 
be  at  peace  with  one  another." 

1  r\  Then  he  left  and  went  to  the   territory  of  Judaea 
1  v/  over  the  Jordan.     Crowds  gathered  to  him  again,  and 

2  again    he    taught    them    as    usual.      Now    some    Pharisees 
came  up  and  asked  him  if  a  man  was  allowed  to  divorce 

3  his  wife.     This  was  to  tempt  him.     So  he  replied,  "What 

4  did   Moses  lay   down  for  you?"     They   said,   "Moses   per- 
mitted a  man  to  divorce  her  by  writing  out  a  separation 

5  notice."     Jesus   said   to   them,   "He   wrote  you   that   com- 

6  mand  on  account  of  the  hardness  of  your  hearts.    But  from 
the  beginning,  when  God  created  the  world, 

Male  and  female,  He  created  them: 

7  hence  a  man  shall  leave  his  father  and  mother, 

8  and  the  pair  shall  fee  one 


*  The  Greek  word  okiad-qaeTai  literally  means  '  salted,*  the  metaphor 
being  taken  from  the  custom  of  using  salt  in  sacrifices  (cp.  e.g.  Levit. 
ii.  13;  Josephus,  Antiquities,  iii.  9.  1).  "There  is  fire  to  be  encoun- 
tered afterwards  if  not  now;  how  much  better  to  face  it  now  and  by 
self-sacrifice  insure  against  the  future  "  (Professor  Menzies). 


S.  MARK  X  69 

9  So  they  are  no  longer  two,  but  one  flesh.     What  God  has 

10  joined,  then,  man  must  not  separate."     Indoors,  the  dis- 

11  ciples  again  asked  him  about  this,  and  he  said  to  them, 
"Whoever  divorces  his  wife  and  marries  another  woman 

12  is  an  adulterer  to  the  former,  and  she  is  an  adulteress 
if  she  divorces  her  husband  and  marries  another 
man." 

13  Now   people   brought   children   for   him    to   touch   them, 

14  and  the  disciples  checked  them;  but  Jesus  was  angry  when 
he  saw  this,  and  he  said  to  them,  "Let  the  children  come 
to  me,  do  not  stop  them:  the  Realm  of  God  belongs  to  such 

15  as  these.  I  tell  you  truly,  whoever  will  not  submit  to  the 
Reign  of  God  like  a  child  will  never  get  into  it  at  all." 

16  Then  he  put  his  arms  round  them,  laid  his  hands  on  them 
and  blessed  them. 

17  As  he  went  out  on  the  road  a  man  ran  up  and  knelt 
down  before  him.     "Good  teacher,"  he  asked,  "what  must 

18  I  do  to  inherit  life  eternal?"    Jesus  said  to  him,  "Why  call 

19  me  'good'?  No  one  is  good,  no  one  but  God.  You  know 
the  commands:  do  not  kill,  do  not  commit  adultery,  do  not 
steal,  do  not   bear  false  ivitness,   do  not  defraud,   honour 

20  your  father  and  mother:'     "Teacher,"  he  said,  "I  have  ob- 

21  served  all  these  commands  from  my  youth."  Jesus  looked 
at  him  and  loved  him.  "There  is  one  thing  you  want," 
he  said;  "go  and  sell  all  you  have;  give  the  money  to  the 
poor  and  you  will  have  treasure  in  heaven;  then  come,  take 

22  up  the  cross,  and  follow  me."  But  his  face  fell  at  that,  and  he 

23  went  sadly  away,  for  he  had  great  possessions.  Jesus  looked 
round  and  said  to  his  disciples,  "How  difficult  it  is  for 
those  who  have  money  to   get  into  the  Realm  of  God!" 

24  The  disciples  were  amazed  at  what  he  said;  so  he  repeated, 
"My  sons,  how  difficult  it  is  [for  those  who  rely  on  money] 

25  to  get  into  the  Realm  of  God!  It  is  easier  for  a  camel  to 
get  through  a  needle's  eye  than  for  a  rich  man  to  get  into 

26  the  Realm  of  God."  They  were  more  astounded  than  ever; 
they  said  to  themselves,  "Then  who  ever  can  be  saved?" 

27  Jesus  looked  at  them  and  said,  "For  men  it  is  impossible, 

28  but   not  for   God:    anything  is  possible   for   God."     Peter 

29  began,  "Well,  we  have  left  our  all  and  followed  you."  Jesus 
said,  "I  tell  you  truly,  no  one  has  left  home  or  brothers  or 
sisters  or  mother  or  father  or  children  or  lands  for  my 

30  sake  and  for  the  sake  of  the  gospel,  who  does  not  get  a 
hundred  times  as  much — in  this  present  world  homes, 
brothers,  sisters,  mothers,  children  and  lands,  together 
with  persecutions,  and  in  the  world  to  come  life  eternal. 

31  Many  who  are  first  will  be  last,  and  many  who  are  last  will 
be  first." 

32  They  were  on  the  way  up  to  Jerusalem,  Jesus  walking 


70  S.  MARK  X 

in  front  o^  them:  the  disciples  were  in  dismay  and  the 
company  who  followed  were  afraid.  So  once  again  he  took 
the   twelve   aside   and   proceeded   to   tell   them   what   was 

33  going  to  happen  to  himself.  "We  are  going  up  to  Jeru- 
salem," he  said,  "and  the  Son  of  man  will  be  betrayed  to 
the  high  priests  and  scribes;    they  will  sentence  him  to 

34  death  and  hand  him  over  to  the  Gentiles,  who  will  mock 
him,  spit  on  him,  scourge  him,  and  kill  him;  then  after 
three  days  he  will  rise  again." 

35  James  and  John,  the  sons  of  Zebedaeus,  came  up  to  him 
saying,   "Teacher,   we  want  you   to   do  whatever  we   ask 

36  you."     So  he  said,  "What  do  you  want  me  to  do  for  you?" 

37  They  said  to  him,  "Give  us  seats,  one  at  your  right  hand 

38  and  one  at  your  left  hand,  in  your  glory."  Jesus  said,  "You 
do  not  know  what  you  are  asking.  Can  you  drink  the  cup 
I  have  to  drink,  or  undergo  the  baptism  I  have  to  under- 

39  go?"  They  said  to  him,  "We  can."  Jesus  said,  "You  shall 
drink  the  cup  I  have  to  drink  and  undergo  the  baptism 

40  I  have  to  undergo;  but  it  is  not  for  me  to  grant  seats  at 
my  right  or  my  left  hand — these  belong  to  the  men  for 

41  whom  they  have  been  destined."    Now  when  the  ten  heard 

42  of  this,  they  burst  into  anger  at  James  and  John;  so  Jesus 
called  them  and  said, 

"You  know  the  so-called  rulers  of  the  Gentiles  lord  it  over 
them, 
and  their  great  men  overbear  them: 

43  not  so  with  you. 

Whoever  wants  to  be  great  among  you  must  be  your 
servant, 

44  and  whoever  of  you  wants  to  be  first  must  be  your  slave; 

45  for  the  Son  of  man  himself  has  not  come  to  be  served 

but  to  serve, 
and  to  give  his  life  as  a  ransom  for  many." 

46  Then  they  reached  Jericho;  and  as  he  was  leaving  Jeri- 
cho with  his  disciples  and  a  considerable  crowd,  the  son  of 
Timaeus,  Bartimaeus,  the  blind  beggar  who  sat  beside  the 

47  road,  heard   it  was   Jesus  of  Nazaret.     So  he   started  to 

48  shout,  "Son  of  David!  Jesus!  have  pity  on  me."  A  number 
of  the  people  checked  him  and  told  him  to  be  quiet,  but  he 
shouted  all  the  more,  "Son  of  David,  have  pity  on  me!" 

49  Jesus  stopped  and  said,  "Call  him."  Then  they  called  the 
blind  man  and  told  him,  "Courage!     Get  up,  he  is  calling 

50  you."     Throwing  off  his  cloak  he  jumped  up  and  went  to 

51  Jesus.  Jesus  spoke  to  him  and  said,  "What  do  you  want 
me  to  do  for  you?"    The  blind  man  said,  "Rabboni,  I  want 

52  to  regain  my  sight."  Then  Jesus  said,  "Go,  your  faith  has 
made  you  well;"  and  he  regained  his  sight  at  once  and 
followed  Jesus  along  the  road. 


S.  MARK  XI  71 

11    Now  when  they  came  near  Jerusalem,  near  Bethphage 
1   and   Bethany,   at   the   Hill   of   Olives,   he    despatched 

2  two  of  his  disciples,  saying  to  them,  "Go  to  the  village 
in  front  of  you.  As  soon  as  you  enter  it  you  will  find  a 
colt  tethered,  on  which  no  one  has  ever  sat;   untether  it 

3  and  bring  it  here.  If  anyone  asks  you,  'Why  are  you  doing 
that?'  say,  'The  Lord  needs  it,  and  he  will  send  it  back 

4  immediately.'  "     Off  they  went  and  found  a  colt  tethered 

5  outside  a  door  in  the  street.  They  untethered  it;  but  some 
of  the  bystanders  said  to  them,  "What  do  you  mean  by  un- 

6  tethering  that  colt?"     So  they  answered  as  Jesus  had  told 

7  them,  and  the  men  allowed  them  to  go.  Then  they  brought 
the  colt  to  Jesus,  and  when  they  had  put  their  clothes  on 

8  it  Jesus  seated  himself.  Many  also  spread  their  clothes 
on   the   road,   while   others   strewed  leaves   cut   from   the 

9  fields;  and  both  those  in  front  and  those  who  followed 
shouted, 

"Hosanna! 
Blessed  6e  Ue  who  comes  in  the  Lord's  name! 

10  Blessed  be  the  Reign  to  come,  our  father  David's  reign. 
Hosanna  in  high  heaven!" 

11  Then  he  entered  Jerusalem,  entered  the  temple,  and 
looked  round  at  everything;  but  as  it  was  late  he  went 
away  with  the  twelve  to  Bethany. 

12  Next  day,  when  they  had  left  Bethany,  he  felt  hungry, 

13  and  noticing  a  fig  tree  in  leaf  some  distance  away  he 
went  to  see  if  he  could  find  anything  on  it;  but  when 
he  reached  it  he  found  nothing  but  leaves,  for  it  was  not 

14  the  time  for  figs.  Then  he  said  to  it,  "May  no  one  ever  eat 
fruit  from  you  after  this!"    The  disciples  heard  him  say  it 

15  Then  they  came  to  Jerusalem,  and  entering  the  temple 
he  proceeded  to  drive  out  those  who  were  buying  and  sell- 
ing inside  the  temple;   he  upset  the  tables  of  the  money- 

16  changers  and  the  stalls  of  those  who  sold  doves,  and  would 
not  allow  anyone  to  carry  a  vessel  through  the  temple; 

17  also  he  taught  them.  "Is  it  not  written,"  he  asked,  ''My 
house  shall  be  called  a  house  of  prayer  for  all  nations? 

18  You  have  made  it  a  den  of  robbers"  This  came  to  the  ears 
of  the  scribes  and  high  priests,  and  they  tried  to  get  him 
put  to  death,  for  they  were  afraid  of  him.     But  the  multi- 

19  tude  were  all  astounded  at  his  teaching.  And  when  even- 
ing came  he  went  outside  the  city. 

20  Now  as  they  passed  in  the  morning  they  noticed  the  fig 

21  tree  had  withered  to  the  root.  Then  Peter  remembered. 
"Rabbi,"   he   said,   "there   is   the  fig  tree  you  cursed,   all 

22  withered!"     Jesus    answered   them,    "Have   faith    in   God! 

23  I  tell  you  truly,  whoever  says  to  this  hill,  'Take  and  throw 
yourself  into  the  sea,'  and  has  not  a  doubt  in  his  mind 


72  S.  MARK  XII 

but  believes  that  what  he  says  will  happen,  he  will  have 

24  it  done.     So  I  tell  you,  whatever  you  pray  for  and  ask, 

25  believe  you  have  got  it  and  you  shall  have  it.  Also,  when- 
ever you  stand  up  to  pray,  if  you  have  anything  against 
anybody,  forgive  him,  so  that  your  Father  in  heaven  may 
forgive  you  your  trespasses." 

27  Once  more  they  came  to  Jerusalem.  And  as  he  was 
walking  within  the  temple  the  high  priests  and  scribes  and 

28  elders  came  and  asked  him,  "What  authority  have  you 
for  acting  in  this  way?     Who  gave  you  authority  to  act 

29  in  this  way?"  Jesus  said  to  them,  "I  am  going  to  ask  you 
a  question.     Answer  this,  and  I  will  tell  you  what  author- 

30  ity  I  have  for  acting  as  I  do.     What  about  the  baptism 

31  of  John?    Was  it  from  heaven  or  from  men?"     Now  they 

32  argued  to  themselves,  "[What  are  we  to  say?]  If  we  say, 
'From  heaven,'  he  will  ask,  'Then  why  did  you  not  believe 
him.'  No,  let  us  say,  From  men" — but  they  were  afraid 
of  the  multitude,  for  the  people  all  held  John  had  been  really 

33  a  prophet.  So  they  replied  to  Jesus,  "We  do  not  know." 
Jesus  said  to  them,  "No  more  will  I  tell  you  what  author- 
ity I  have  for  acting  as  I  do." 

-t  o  Thex  he  proceeded  to  address  them  in  parables.  "A 
1  ^  man  planted  a  vineyard,  fenced  it  round,  dug  a  trough 
-for  the  winepress,  and  tuilt  a  tower ;  then  he  leased  it  to 

2  vinedressers  and  went  abroad.  When  the  season  came 
round  he  sent  a  servant  to  the  vinedressers  to  collect  from 

3  the  vinedressers  some  of  the  produce  of  the  vineyard,  but 
they  took  and  flogged  him  and  sent  him  off  with  nothing. 

4  Once    more    he    sent    them    another    servant;    him    they 

5  knocked  on  the  head  and  insulted.  He  sent  another,  but 
they  killed  him.     And  so  they  treated  many  others;  some 

6  they  flogged  and  some  they  killed.  He  had  still  one  left, 
a  beloved  son;    he  sent  him  to  them  last,  saying,  'They 

7  will  respect  my  son.'  But  these  vinedressers  said  to  them- 
selves, 'Here  is  the  heir;  come  on,  let  us  kill  him,  and  the 

8  inheritance  will  be  our  own.'    So  they  took  and  killed  him, 

9  and  threw  him  outside  the  vineyard.  Now  what  will  the 
owner  of  the  vineyard  do?  He  will  come  and  destroy  the 
vinedressers,    and    he    will    give    the    vineyard    to    others. 

10  Have  you  not  even  read  this  scripture? — 

The  stone  that  tJie  Guilders  rejected  is  the  chief  stone  nov> 
of  the  corner: 

11  this  is  the  doing  of  the  Lord, 

and  a  wonder  to  our  eyes" 

12  Then  they  tried  to  get  hold  of  him,  but  they  were  afraid 
of  the  multitude.  They  knew  he  had  meant  the  parable  for 
them. 


S.  MARK  XII  73 

13  So  they  left  him  and  went  away.  But  they  sent  some  of 
the  Pharisees  and  Herodians  to  him  for  the  purpose  of 

14  catching  him  with  a  question.  They  came  up  and  said  to 
him,  "Teacher,  we  know  you  are  sincere  and  fearless;  you 
do  not   court  human  favour,  you  teach  the  Way  of  God 

15  honestly.  Is  it  right  to  pay  taxes  to  Caesar  or  not?  Are 
we  to  pay,  or  are  we  not  to  pay?"  But  he  saw  their  trick 
and  said  to  them,  "Why  tempt  me?     Bring  me  a  shilling. 

16  Let  me  see  it."  So  they  brought  one.  He  said,  "Whose 
likeness,  whose  inscription  is  this?"    "Caesar's,"  they  said. 

17  Jesus  said  to  them,  "Give  Caesar  what  belongs  to  Caesar, 
give  God  what  belongs  to  God."    He  astonished  them. 

18  Sadducees,  men  who  hold  there  is  no  resurrection,  also 

19  came  up  and  put  a  question  to  him.  "Teacher,"  they  said, 
"Moses  has  written  this  law  for  us,  that  if  a  man's  brother 
dies   leaving  a  wife  hut  no  child,  ?iis  brother  is  to   take 

20  t?ie  woman  and  raise  offspring  for  his  brother.  Now  there 
were  seven  brothers.     The  first  married  a  wife  and  died 

21  leaving  no  offspring:  the  second  took  her  and  died  without 

22  leaving  any  offspring:  so  did  the  third:  none  of  the  seven 

23  left  any  offspring.  Last  of  all  the  woman  died  too.  At  the 
resurrection,  when  they  rise,  whose  wife  will  she  be?    She 

24  was  wife  to  the  sever,  of  them."  Jesus  said  to  them,  "Is 
this  not  where  you  go  wrong? — you  understand  neither  the 

25  scriptures  nor  the  power  of  God.  When  people  rise  from 
the   dead   they   neither  marry  nor   are   married,   they   are 

26  like  the  angels  in  heaven.  As  for  the  dead  being  raised, 
have  you  not  read  in  the  book  of  Moses,  at  the  pascag"  on 
the  Bush,  how  God  said  to  him,  /  am  the  God  of  Abraham 

27  and  the  God  of  Isaac  and  the  God  of  Jacob?  He  is  not  the 
God  of  dead  people  but  of  living.    You  are  far  wrong." 

28  Then  a  scribe  came  up,  who  had  listened  to  the  discussion. 
Knowing  Jesus  had  given  them  an  apt  answer,  he  put  this 
question  to  him,  "What  is  the  chief  of  all  the  commands?" 

29  Jesus  replied,  "The  chief  one  is:  Hear,  O  Israel,  the  Lord 

30  our  God  is  one  Lord,  and  you  must  love  th  Lord  your  God 
ivith  your  lohole  heart,  with  your  whole  soul,  with  your 

31  whole  mind,  and  loith  your  ivhole  sti-ength.  The  second  is 
this:  You  must  love  your  neighbour  as  yourself.   There  is  no 

32  other  command  greater  than  these."  The  scribe  said  to  him, 
"Right,  teacher!     You  have  truly  said,  He  is  One,  and  there 

33  is  none  else  but  Him.  Also,  to  love  him  with  the  whole  heart, 
with  the  whole  understanding,  and  with  the  whole  strength, 
and  to  love  one's  neighbour  as  oneself — that  is  far  more  than 

34  all  holocausts  and  sacrifices."  Jesus  noted  his  intelligent 
answer  and  said  to  him,  "You  are  not  far  off  the  Realm  of 
God."  After  that  no  one  ventured  to  put  any  more  ques- 
tions to  him. 


74  S.  MARK  XIII 

35  And  as  Jesus  taught  in  the  temple  he  asked,  "How  can 

36  the  scribes  say  that  the  Christ  is  David's  son?  David  him- 
self said  in  the  holy  Spirit, 

The  Lord  said  to  my  Lord,  'Sit  at  my  right  hand, 
till  I  make  your  enemies  a  footstool  for  your  feet.' 

37  David  here  calls  him  Lord.    Then  how  can  he  be  his  son?" 

Now  the  mass  of  the  people  listened  with  delight  to  him. 

38  And  in  the  course  of  his  teaching  he  said,  "Beware  of  the 
scribes!      They  like  to   walk  about   in   long  robes,  to   get 

39  saluted  in  the  marketplaces,  to  secure  the  front  seats  in 

40  the  synagogues  and  the  best  places  at  banquets;  they  prey 
upon  the  property  of  widows  and  offer  long  unreal  prayers. 
All  the  heavier  wull  their  sentence  be!" 

41  Sitting  down  opposite  the  treasury,  he  watched  the  people 
putting  their  money  into  the  treasury,     A  number  of  the 

42  rich  were  putting  in  large  sums,  but  a  poor  widow  came 
up  and  put  in  two  little  coins  amounting  to  a  halfpenny. 

43  And  he  called  his  disciples  and  said  to  them,  "I  tell  you 
truly,  this  poor  widow  has  put  in  more  than  all  who  have 

44  put  their  money  into  the  treasury;  for  they  have  all  put 
in  a  contribution  out  of  their  surplus,  but  she  has  given  out 
of  her  neediness  all  she  possessed,  her  whole  living." 


-1  O  As  he  went  out  of  the  temple  one  of  his  disciples  said 
1  O  to  him,  "Look,  teacher,  what  a  size  these  Ltones  and 

2  buildings  are!"  Jesus  said  to  him,  "You  see  these  great 
buildings?  Not  a  stone  shall  be  left  on  another,  without 
being  torn  down." 

3  And  as  he  sat  on  the  Hill  of  Olives  opposite  the  temple, 
Peter  and  James  and  John  and  Andrew  asked  him  in  pri- 

4  vate,  "Tell  us,  when  is  this  to  happen?     What  will  be  the 

5  sign  for  all  this  to  be  accomplished?"     So  Jesus  began: 

6  "Take  care  that  no  one  misleads  you: — many  will  come  in 

7  my  name  saying,  'I  am  he,'  and  mislead  many.  And  when 
you  hear  of  wars  and  rumours  of  war,  do  not  be  alarmed; 

8  these  have  to  come,  but  it  is  not  the  end  yet.  For  nation 
will  rise  against  nation,  and  realm  against  realm;  there 
will  be  earthquakes  here  and  there,  and  famines  too.     All 

9  that  is  but  the  beginning  of  the  trouble.  Look  to  your- 
selves. Men  will  hand  you  over  to  Sanhedrins  and  you 
will  be  flogged  in  synagogues  and  brought  before  governors 

10  and  kings  for  my  sake,  to  testify  to  them.     (Ere  the  end, 

11  the  gospel  must  be  preached  to  all  nations.)  Now  when 
they  carry  you  off  to  trial,  do  not  worry  beforehand  about 
what  you  are  to  say;  say  whatever  comes  to  your  lips  at  the 
moment,  for  he  who  speaks  is  not  you  but  the  holy  Spirit. 

12  Brother  will  betray  brother  to  death,  the  father  will  betray 


S.  MARK     XIII  75 

.  his  child,  children  will  rise  against  their  parents  and  kill 

13  them,  and  you  will  be  hated  by  all  men  on  account  of  my 
name;  but  he  will  be  saved  who  holds  out  to  the  very 
end. 

14  But  whenever  you  see  the  appalling  Horror  standing 
where  he  has  no  right  to  stand  (let  the  reader  note  this), 

15  then  let  those  who  are  in  Judaea  fly  to  the  hills;  a  man  on 
the  housetop  must  not  go  down  into  the  house  or  go  inside 

16  to  fetch  anything  out  of  his  house,  and  a  man  in  the  field 

17  must  not  turn  back  to  get  his  coat.     Woe  to  women  with 

18  child  and  to  women  who  give  suck  in  those  days!     Pray 

19  it  may  not  be  winter  when  it  comes,  for  those  days  will  be 
days  of  misery,  the  like  of  which  has  never  been  from  the 
beginning  of  GocVs  creation  until  now — no  and  never  shall 

20  be.  Had  not  the  Lord  cut  short  those  days,  not  a  soul 
would  be  saved  alive;  but  he  has  cut  them  short  for  the 
sake  of  the  elect  whom  he  has  chosen. 

21  If  anyone  tells  you  at  that  time,  'Look,  here  is  the  Christ,' 

22  or,  'Look,  there  he  is,'  do  not  believe  it;  for  false  Christs 
and  false  prophets  ivill  rise  and  perform  signs  and  wonders 

23  to  mislead  the  elect  if  they  can.  Now  take  care!  I  am  tell- 
ing you  of  it  all  beforehand. 

24  But  when  that  misery  is  past,  in  those  days, 
the  sun  will  be  darkened 

and  the  moon  will  not  yield  her  light, 

25  the  stars  will  drop  from  heaven, 

and  the  orbs  of  the  heavens  will  be  shaken. 

26  Then  they  will  see  the  Son  of  man  coming  in  the  clouds 

27  with  great  power  and  glory.  Then  he  will  despatch  his 
angels  and  muster  the  elect  from  the  four  winds,  from  the 
verge  of  earth  to  the  verge  of  heaven. 

28  Let  the  fig  tree  teach  you  a  parable.  As  soon  as  its 
branches  turn  soft  and  put  out  leaves,  you  know  summer  is 

29  at  hand;  so,  whenever  you  see  this  happen,  you  may  be 
sure  He  is  at  hand,  at  the  very  door. 

30  I  tell  you  truly,  the  present  generation  will  not  pass  away 

31  till  all  this  happens.  Heaven  and  earth  will  pass  away, 
but  my  words  never. 

32  Now  no  one  knows  anything  about  that  day  or  hour,  not 
even  the  angels  in  heaven,  not  even  the  Son,  but  only  the 

33  Father.    Take  care,  keep  awake  and  pray;  you  never  know 

34  the  time.  It  is  like  a  man  leaving  his  house  to  go  abroad; 
he  puts  his  servants  in  charge,  each  with  his  work  to  do, 

35  and  he  orders  the  porter  to  keep  watch.  Watch  then,  for 
you  never  know  when  the  Lord  of  the  House  will  come,  in 
the  late  evening  or  at  midnight  or  at  cock-crow  or  in  the 

36  morning.    Watch,  in  case  he  comes  suddenly  and  finds  you 

37  asleep.    Watch:  I  say  it  to  you,  and  I  say  it  to  all." 


76  S.  MARK  XIV 

UThe  passover  and  the  festival  of  unleavened  bread  fell 
two  days  later;  so  the  high  priests  and  scribes  were 
trying  how  to  get  hold  of  him  by  craft  and  have  him  put 

2  to  death.  "Only,"  they  said,  "it  must  not  be  during  the  fes- 
tival; that  would  mean  a  popular  riot." 

3  Now  when  he  was  at  Bethany  in  the  house  of  Simoi.  the 
leper,  lying  at  table,  a  woman  came  up  with  an  alabaster 
flask  of  pure  nard  perfume,  which  had  cost  a  great  sum; 
the  flask  she  broke  and  poured  the  perfume  over  his  head. 

4  This  angered  some  of  those  present.     "What  was   cne  use 

5  of  wasting  perfume  like  this?  This  perfume  might  have 
been  sold  for  over  three  hundred  shillings,  and  the  poor 

6  might  have  got  that."  So  they  upbraided  her.  But  Jesus 
said,  "Let  her  alone.    Why  are  you  annoying  her?    She  has 

7  done  a  beautiful  thing  to  me.  The  poor  you  always  have  be- 
side you,  and  you  can  be  kind  to  them  whenever  you  want; 

8  but  you  will  not  always  have  me.  She  has  done  all  she 
could — she  has  anticipated  the  perfuming  of  my  body  for 

9  burial.  I  tell  you  truly,  wherever  the  gospel  is  preached  all 
over  the  world,  men  will  speak  of  what  she  has  done  in 
memory  of  her." 

10  Then  Judas  Iscariot,  one  of  the  twelve,  went  to  the  high 

11  priests  to  betray  him  to  them.  They  were  delighted  to  hear 
it,  and  promised  to  pay  him  for  it.  Meantime  he  sought  a 
good  opportunity  for  betraying  him, 

12  On  the  first  day  of  unleavened  bread  (the  day  when  the 
paschal  lamb  was  sacrificed)  his  disciples  said  to  him, 
"Where  do  you  want  us  to  go  and  prepare  for  you  to  eat 

13  the  passover?"  So  he  despatched  two  of  his  disciples,  tell- 
ing them,  "Go  into  the  city  and  you  will  meet  a  man  carry- 

14  ing  a  water-jar;  follow  him,  and  whatever  house  he  goes 
into,  tell  the  owner  that  the  Teacher  says,  'Where  is  my 
room,  that  I  may  eat  the  passover  there  with  my  disciples?' 

15  He  will  show  you  a  large  room  upstairs,  v/ith  couches 
spread,    all    ready;    prepare    the    passover    for    us    there." 

16  The  disciples  went  away  into  the  city  and  found  it  was  as 

17  he  had  told  them.    So  they  prepared  the  passover,  and  when 

18  evening  fell  he  arrived  along  with  the  twelve.  As  they  were 
at  table  eating,  Jesus  said,  "Truly  I  tell  you,  one  of  you  is 

19  going  to  betray  me,  one  who  is  eating  with  me."  They  got 
distressed    at    this,    and    said   to    him    one    after    another, 

20  "Surely  it  is  not  me?"  "Surely  it  is  not  me?"  "One  of  the 
twelve,"  he  told  them,  "one  who  is  dipping  into  the  same 

21  dish  as  I  am.  The  Son  of  man  goes  the  road  that  the 
scripture  has  described  for  him,  but  woe  to  the  man  by 
whom  the  Son  of  man  is  betrayed!     Better  that  man  had 

22  never  been  born!"  And  as  they  were  eating  he  took  a  loaf 
and  after  the  blessing  he  broke  and  gave  it  to  them,  saying. 


S.  MARK  XIV  77 

23  "Take  this,  it  means  my  body."  He  also  took  a  cup  and 
after  thanking  God  he  gave  it  to  them,  and  they  all  drank 

24  of   it;    he   said  to  them,   "This  means  my   covenant-Mood 

25  which  is  shed  for  many;  truly  I  tell  you,  I  will  never  drink 
the  produce  of  the  vine  again  till  the  day  I  drink  it  new 
within  the  Realm  of  God." 

26  After  the  hymn  of  praise  they  went  out  to  the  Hill  of 

27  Olives.  Jesus  said  to  them,  "You  will  all  be  disconcerted, 
for  it  is  written:  I  will  strike  at  the  shepherd  and  the  sheep- 

28  will  he  scattered.    But  after  my  rising  I  will  precede  you  to 

29  Galilee."     Peter  sai&  to  him,  "Though  all  are  disconcerted, 

30  I  will  not  be."  Jesus  said  to  him,  "I  tell  you  truly,  to-day 
you  will  disown  me  three  times,  this  very  night,  before  the 

31  cock  crows  twice."  But  he  persisted,  "Though  I  have  to 
die  with  you,  I  will  never  disown  you."  And  they  all  said 
the  same. 

32  Then  they  came  to  a  place  called  Gethsemane,  and  he 

33  told  his  disciples,  "Sit  here  till  I  pray."  But  he  took  Peter 
and  James  and  John  along  with  him;  and  as  he  began  to 

34  feel  appalled  and  agitated,  he  said  to  them,  ''My  heart  is 

35  sad,  sad  even  to  death;  stay  here  and  watch."  Then  he 
went  forward  a  little  and  fell  to  the  earth,  praying  that  the 

36  hour  might  pass  away  from  him,  if  possible.  "Abba, 
Father,"  he  said,  "Thou  canst  do  anything.  Take  this  cup 
away  from  me.     Yet,  not  what  I  will  but  what  thou  wilt." 

37  Then  he  came  and  found  them  asleep;  so  he  said  to  Peter, 
"Are  you   sleeping,    Simon?     Could   you   not   watch   for   a 

38  single  hour?  Watch  and  pray,  ail  of  you,  so  that  you  may 
not  slip  into  temptation.     The  spirit  is  eager  but  the  flesh 

39  is  weak."     Again  he  went  away  and  prayed  in  the  same 

40  words  as  before;  then  he  returned  and  found  them  once 
more  asleep,  for  their  eyes  were  heavy.    They  did  not  know 

41  what  to  say  to  him.  Then  he  came  for  the  third  time  and 
said  to  them,  "Still  asleep?  still  resting?  No  more  of  that! 
The  hour  has  come,  here  is  the  Son  of  man  betrayed  into 

42  the  hands  of  sinners.     Come,  get  up,  here  is  my  betrayer 

43  close  at  hand."  At  that  very  moment,  while  he  was  still 
speaking,  Judas  [Iscariot]  one  of  the  twelve  came  up 
accompanied  by  a  mob  with  swords  and  clubs  who  had  come 

44  from  the  high  priests  and  scribes  and  elders.  Now  his 
betrayer  had  given  them  a  signal;  he  said,  "Whoever  I 
kiss,  that  is  the  man.    Seize  him  and  get  him  safely  away." 

45  So  when  he  arrived  he  at  once  went  up  to  him  and  said, 

46  "Rabbi  [rabbi],"  and  kissed  him.    Then  they  laid  hands  on 

47  him  and  seized  him,  but  one  of  the  bystanders  drew  his 
sword  and  struck  the  servant  of  the  high  priest,  cutting  off 

48  his  ear.  Jesus  turned  on  them,  saying,  "Have  you  sallied 
out  to  arrest  me  like  a  robber,   with   swords   and   clubs? 


78  S.  MARK  XIV 

49  Day  after  day  I  was  beside  you  in  the  temple  teaching,  and 
you  never  seized  me.  However,  it  is  to  let  the  scriptures 
be  fulfilled." 

1^  Then  they  left  him  and  fled,  all  of  them;  one  young  man 
did  follow  him,  with  only  a  linen  sheet  thrown  round  his 

52  body,  but  when  the  [young]  men  seized  him  he  fled  away 
naked,  leaving  the  sheet  behind  him. 

53  They  took  Jesus  away  to  the  high  priest,  and  all  the  high 

54  priests  and  scribes  and  elders  met  there  with  him.  Peter 
followed  him  at  a  distance  till  he  got  inside  the  courtyard  of 
the  high  priest,  where  he  sat  down  with  the  attendants  to 
warm  himself  at  the  fire. 

55  Now  the  high  priests  and  the  whole  of  the  Sanhedrin  tried 
to  secure  evidence  against  Jesus,  in  order  to  have  him  put  to 

56  death;  but  they  could  find  none,  for  while  many  bore  false 

57  witness  against  him  their  evidence  did  not  agree.    Some  got 

58  up  and  bore  false  witness  against  him,  saying,  "We  heard 
him  say,  'I  will  destroy  this  temple  made  by  hands,  and  in 
three  days  I  will  build  another  temple  not  made  by  hands.' 

Iq  But  even  so  the  evidence  did  not  agree.  So  the  high  priest 
rose  in  their  midst  and  asked  Jesus,  "Have  you  no  reply  to 

61  make?  What  about  this  evidence  against  you?"  He  said 
nothing  and  made  no  answer.  Again  the  high  priest  put  a 
question  to  him.    "Are  you  the  Christ?"  he  said,  "the  Son  of 

62  the  Blessed?"  Jesus  said,  "I  am.  And,  what  is  more,  you 
will  all  see  the  Son  of  man  sitting  at  the  right  hand  of  the 

63  Power  and  coming  toith  the  clouds  of  heaven.''^  Then  the 
high  priest  tore  his  clothes  and  cried,  "What  more  evidence 

64  do  we  want?  You  have  heard  his  blasphemy  for  yourselves. 
What  is  your  mind?"     They  condemned  him,  all  of  them, 

65  to  the  doom  of  death;  and  some  of  them  started  to  spit  on 
him  and  to  blindfold  him  and  buffet  him,  asking  him, 
"Prophesy."    The  attendants  treated  him  to  cuffs  and  slaps. 

66  Now  as  Peter  was  downstairs  in  the  courtyard,  a  maid- 

67  servant  of  the  high  priest  came  along,  and  when  she  noticed 
Peter  warming  himself  she  looked  at  him  and  said,  "You 

68  were  with  Jesus  of  Nazaret  too."  But  he  denied  it.  "I  do 
not  know,"  he  said,  "I  have  no  idea  what  you  mean."    Then 

69  he  went  outside  into  the  passage.  The  cock  crowed.  Again 
the  maidservant  who  had  noticed  him  began  to  tell  the  by- 

70  standers,  "That  fellow  is  one  of  them."  But  he  denied  it 
again.  After  a  little  the  bystanders  once  more  said  to 
Peter,  "To  be  sure,  you  are  one  of  them.     Why,  you  are  a 

71  Galilean!"*     But  he  broke  out  cursing  and  swearing,   "I 

72  do  not  know  the  man  you  mean."  At  that  moment  the  cock 
crowed  for  the  second  time.     Then  Peter  remembered  how 

*  Omitting  [foi  17  \aKi6.  aov  opioid ffet]. 


S.  MARK  XV  79 

Jesus  had  told  him,  "Before  the  cock  crows  twice  you  will 
disown  me  thrice;"  and  he  burst  into  tears, 
1  pr  Immediately  morning  came,  the  high  priests  held  a 
1  «l9  consultation  *  with  the  elders  and  scribes  and  all  the 
Sanhedrin,  and  after  binding  Jesus  they  led  him  off  and 

2  handed  him  over  to  Pilate.     Pilate  asked  him,  "Are  you 

3  the  king  of  the  Jews?"    He  replied,  "Certainly."    Then  the 
high   priest   brought  many  accusations   against  him,   and 

4  once  more  Pilate  asked  him,  "Have  you  no  reply  to  make? 

5  Look  at  all  their  charges  against  you."     But,  to  the  aston- 

6  ishment  of  Pilate,  Jesus  answered  no  more.    Now  at  festival 
time  he  used  to  release  for  them  some  prisoner  whom  they 

7  begged  from  him.     (There  was  a  man  called  Bar-Abbas  in 
prison,  among  the  rioters  who  had  committed  murder  dur- 

8  ing  the  insurrection.)     So  the  crowd  pressed  up  and  started 

9  to  ask  him  for  his  usual  boon.     Pilate  replied,  "Would  you 

10  like  me  to  release  the  king  of  the  Jews  for  you?"  (For  he 
knew  the  high  priests  had  handed  him  over  out  of  envy.) 

11  But  the  high  priests  stirred  up  the  crowd  to  get  him  to 

12  release  Bar-Abbas  for  them  instead.  Pilate  asked  them 
again,  "And  what  am  I  to  do  with  your  so-called  king  of 

13  the  Jews?"    Whereupon  they  shouted  again,  "Crucify  him." 

14  "Why,"  said  Pilate,  "what  has  he  done  wrong?"     But  they 

15  shouted  more  fiercely  than  ever,  "Crucify  him!"  So,  as 
Pilate  wanted  to  satisfy  the  crowd,  he  released  Bar-Abbas 
for  them;  Jesus  he  handed  over  to  be  crucified,  after  he  had 
scourged  him. 

16  The  soldiers  took  him  inside  the  courtyard   (that  is,  the 

17  praetorium)  and  got  all  the  regiment  together;  then  they 
dressed  him  in  purple,  put  on  his  head  a  crown  of  thorns 

18  which   they   had  plaited,   and  began  to   salute  him  with, 

19  "Hail,  0  king  of  the  Jews!"  They  struck  him  on  the  head 
with  a  stick  and  spat  upon  him  and  bent  their  knees  to 

20  him  in  homage.  Then,  after  making  fun  of  him,  they 
stripped  off  the  purple,  put  on  his  own  clothes,  and  took 

21  him  away  to  crucify  him.  They  forced  Simon  a  Cyrenian 
who  was  passing  on  his  way  from  the  country  (the  father 

22  of  Alexander  and  Rufus)  to  carry  his  cross,  and  they  led 
him  to  the  place  called  Golgotha  (which  means  the  place  of 

23  a  skull).     They  offered   him  wine  flavoured  with  myrrh, 

24  but  he  would  not  take  it.  Then  they  crucified  him  and  dis- 
tributed  his   clothes   among   themselves,   drawing   lots  for 

25  them  to  decide  each  man's  share.    It  was  nine  in  the  morn- 

26  ing  when  they  crucified  him.  The  inscription  bearing  his 
charge  was: 

THE   KIXG  OF  THE  JEWS. 
*  Reading  Troti^cayres  instead  of  eToi/xdcravTes. 


80  S.  MARK  XVI 

27  They  also  crucified  two  robbers  along  with  him,  one  at  his 
29  right  and  one  at  his  left.*  Those  who  passed  by  scoffed  at 
him,  nodding  at  him  in  derision  and  calling,  "Ha!  You 
were  to  destroy  the  temple  and  build  it  in  three  days! 
1^  Come  down  from  the  cross  and  save  yourself!"  So,  too, 
the  high  priests  made  fun  of  him  to  themselves  with  the 
scribes;   "he  saved  others,"  they  said,  "but  he  cannot  save 

32  himself!  Let  'the  Christ,'  'the  king  of  Israel'  come  down 
now  from  the  cross!  Let  us  see  that  and  we  will  believe!" 
Those  who  were  crucified  with  him  also  denounced  him. 

33  When  twelve  o'clock  came,  darkness  covered  the  whole* 

34  land  till  three  o'clock,  and  at  three  o'clock  Jesus  gave  a  loud 
cry,   "Eloi,   Eloi,    lema   sahachthanei''    (which    means,    My 

35  God,  my  God,  why  hast  thou  forsaken  me?)  On  hearing 
this  some  of  the  bystanders  said,  "Look,  he  is  calling  for 

36  Elijah,"  One  man  ran  off,  soaked  a  sponge  in  vinegar,  and  put 
it  on  the  end  of  a  stick  to  give  him  a  drink,  saying,  "Come 

37  on,  let  us  see  if  Elijah  does  come  to  take  him  down!"    But 

38  Jesus  gave  a  loud  cry  and   expired.     And  the  curtain  of 

39  the  temple  was  torn  in  two,  from  top  to  bottom.  Now  when 
the  army-captain  who  stood  facing  him  saw  that  he  expired 
in  this  way,  he  said,  "This  man  was  certainly  a  son  of  God." 

40  There  were  some  women  also  watching  at  a  distance, 
among  them  Mary  of  Magdala,  Mary  the  mother  of  James 

41  the  younger  and  of  Joses,  and  Salome,  women  who  had  fol- 
lowed him  when  he  was  in  Galilee  and  waited  on  him,  be- 
sides a  number  of  other  women  who  had  accompanied  him 
to  Jerusalem. 

42  By  this  time  it  was  evening,  and  as  it  was  the  day  of 

43  Preparation  (that  is,  the  day  before  the  sabbath)  Joseph 
of  Arimathaea,  a  councillor  of  good  position  who  himself 
was  on  the  outlook  for  the  Reign  of  God,  ventured  to  go  to 

44  Pilate  and  ask  for  the  body  of  Jesus.  Pilate  was  surprised 
that  he  was  dead  already;   he  summoned  the  captain  and 

45  asked  if  he  had  been  dead  some  time,  and  on  ascertaining 
this  from  the  captain  he  bestowed  the  corpse  on  Joseph. 

46  He,  after  buying  a  linen  sheet,  took  him  down  and  swathed 
him  in  the  linen,  laying  him  in  a  tomb  which  had  been  cut 
out  of  the  rock  and  rolling  a  boulder  up  against  the  opening 

47  of  the  tomb.  Now  Mary  of  Magdala  and  Mary  the  mother 
of  Joses  noted  where  he  was  laid. 

1  /Z*  Ats^d  when  the  sabbath  had  passed  Mary  of  Magdala, 

1  vJ  Mary  the  mother  of  James,  and  Salome  bought  some 

2  spices  in  order  to  go  and  anoint  him;  and  very  early  on  the 

*  Von  Soden  retains  ver.  28  (cp.  Luke  xxii,  37):  "So  the  scripture 
was  fulfilled  which  says,  He  was  classed  among  criminals." 


S.  MARK  XVI  81 

first  day  of  the  week  they  went  to  the  tomb,  after  sunrise. 

3  They  said  to  themselves,  "Who  will  roll  away  the  boulder 
for  us  at  the  opening  of  the  tomb?"  (for  it  was  a  very  large 

4  boulder).*  But  when  they  looked  they  saw  the  boulder  had 

5  been  rolled  to  one  side,  and  on  entering  the  tomb  they  saw 
a  youth  sitting  on  the  right  dressed  in  a  white  robe.    They 

6  were  bewildered,  but  he  said  to  them,  "Do  not  be  bewildered. 
You  are  looking  for  Jesus  of  Nazaret,  who  was  crucified? 
He  has  risen,  he  is  not  here.     That  is  the  place  where  he 

7  was  laid.  Go  you  and  tell  his  disciples  and  Peter,  'He  pre- 
cedes you  to  Galilee;   you  shall  see  him  there,  as  he  told 

8  you.' "  And  they  fled  out  of  the  tomb,  for  they  were  seized 
with  terror  and  beside  themselves.  They  said  nothing  to 
anyone,  for  they  were  afraid  of  — .t 

• 

(a) 

9  Now  after  he  rose  early  on  the  first  day  of  the  week,  he 
appeared  first  to  Mary  of  Magdala  out  of  whom  he  had  cast 

10  seven  daemons.    She  went  and  reported  it  to  those  who  had 

11  been  with  him,  as  they  mourned  and  wept;  but  although 
they  heard  he  was  alive  and  had  been  seen  by  her,  they 

12  would  not  believe  it.  After  this  he  appeared  in  another 
form  to  two  of  them  as  they  were  walking  on  their  way  to 

13  the  country.     They  too  went  and  reported  it  to  the  rest, 

14  but  they  would  not  believe  them  either.  Afterwards  he 
appeared  at  table  to  the  eleven  themselves  and  reproached 
them  for  their  unbelief  and  dulness  of  mind,  because  they 
had  not  believed  those  who  saw  him  risen  from  the  dead. 
[But  they  excused  themselves,  saying,  "This  age  of  lawless- 
ness and  unbelief  lies  under  the  sway  of  Satan,  who  will 
not  allow  what  lies  under  the  unclean  spirits  t  to  under- 
stand the  truth  and  power  of  God;  therefore,"  they  said  to 
Christ,  "reveal  your  righteousness  now."  Christ  answered 
them,  "The  limit  of  years  for  Satan's  power  has  now 
expired,  but  other  terrors  are  at  hand.  I  was  delivered  to 
death  on  behalf  of  sinners,§  that  they  might  return  to  the 
truth  and  sin  no  more,  that  they  might  inherit  that  glory  of 
righteousness    which    is    spiritual    and    imperishable    in 

*  Transposing  the  second  clause  of  ver.  4  to  the  end  of  ver.  3. 

t  The  following  appendix  represents  a  couple  of  second  century 
attempts  to  complete  the  gospel.  The  passage  within  brackets  in  the 
first  of  these  epilogues  originally  belonged  to  it,  but  was  excised  for 
some  reason  at  an  early  date.  Jerome  quoted  part  of  it,  but  the  full 
text  has  only  been  discovered  quite  recently  in  codex  W,  the  Freer 
uncial  of  the  gospels. 

X  Or,  the  unclean  things  that  he  under  the  control  of  spirits. 

§  The  Greek  is  obscure  at  this  point. 


82  S.  MARK  XVI 

15  heaven."]  And  he  said  to  them,  "Go  to  all  the  world  and 
preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature: 

16  he  who  believes  and  is  baptized  shall  be  saved, 
but  he  who  will  not  believe  shall  be  condemned. 

17  And  for  those  who  believe,  these  miracles  will  follow: 

they  will  cast  out  daemons  in  my  name, 
they  will  talk  in  foreign  tongues, 

18  they  will  handle  serpents, 

and  if  they  drink  any  deadly  poison,  it  will  not  hurt  them; 
they  will  lay  hands  on  the  sick  and  make  them  well." 

19  Then  after  speaking  to  them  the  Lord  Jesus  was  taken 

20  up  to  heaven  and  sat  doivn  at  the  right  hand  of  God,  while 
they  went  out  and  preached  everywhere,  the  Lord  working 
with  them  and  confirming  the  word  by  the  miracles  that 
endorsed  it. 

(&) 

But  they  gave  Peter  and  his  companions  a  brief  account 
of  all  that  had  been  enjoined.  And  after  that,  Jesus  him- 
self sent  out  by  means  of  them  from  east  to  west  the  sacred 
and  imperishable  message  of  eternal  salvation. 


THE  GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO 

S.  LUKE 

1  Inasmuch  as  a  number  of  writers  have  essayed  to  draw 
up  a  narrative  of  the  established  facts  in  our  religion  ex- 
actly as  these  have  been  handed  down  to  us  by  the  original 
eyewitnesses  who  were  in  the  service  of  the  Gospel  Mes- 

3  sage,  and  inasmuch  as  I  have  gone  carefully  over  them 
all  myself  from  the  very  beginning,  I  have  decided,  O 
Theophilus,  to  write  them  out  in  order  for  your  excellency, 

4  to  let  you  know  the  solid  truth  of  what  you  have  been 
taught. 

• 

5  In  the  days  of  Herod  king  of  Judaea  there  was  a  priest 
called  Zechariah,  who  belonged  to  the  division  of  Abijah; 
he  had  a  wife  who  belonged  to  the  daughters  of  Aaron,  and 

6  her  name  was  Elizabeth.  They  were  both  just  in  the  sight 
of  God,  blameless  in  their  obedience  to  all  the  commands 

7  and  regulations  of  God;  but  they  had  no  child,  for  Eliza- 
beth was  barren.    Both  of  them  were  advanced  in  years. 

8  Now   while   he   was   oflaciating   before   God   in   the    due 

9  course  of  his  division,  it  fell  to  him  by  lot,  as  was  the 
custom  of  the  priesthood,  to  enter  the  sanctuary  of  the 

10  Lord  and  burn  incense,  the  mass  of  the  people  all  remain- 

11  ing  in  prayer  outside  at  the  hour  of  incense.  And  an  angel 
of  the  Lord  appeared  to  him,  standing  on  the  right  side 

12  of  the  altar  of  incense. .  When  Zechariah  saw  him  he  was 

13  troubled,  and  fear  fell  on  him;  but  the  angel  said  to  him, 
"Fear  not,  Zechariah,  your  prayer  has  been  heard;  your 
wife  Elizabeth  will  bear  a  son  to  you,  and  you  must 
call  his  name  John. 

14  It  will  be  joy  and  gladness  for  you, 

and  many  will  rejoice  over  his  birth: 

15  for  he  shall  be  great  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord, 
he  ivill  drink  neither  wine  nor  strong  drink, 

he  will  be  filled  with  the  holy  Spirit  from  his  very  birth; 

16  he  will  turn  many  of  the  sons  of  Israel  to  the  Lord  their 

God, 

17  he  will  go  in  front  of  Him  with  the  spirit  and  power  of 

Elijah 
to  turn  the  hearts  of  fathers  to  their  children, 
83 


84  S.  LUKE  I 

turning  the  disobedient  to  the  wisdom  of  the  just, 
to  make  a  people  ready  and  prepared  for  the  Lord." 

18  Zechariah  said  to  the  angel,  "But  how  am  I  to  be  sure  of 
this?     I  am  an  old  man  myself,  and  my  wife  is  advanced 

19  in  years."  The  angel  replied,  "I  am  Gabriel,  I  stand  be- 
fore God;  I  have  been  sent  to  speak  to  you  and  to  tell  you 

20  this  good  news.  But  you  will  be  silent  and  unable  to  speak 
till  the  day  this  happens,  because  you  have  not  believed  what 
I  told  you;  it  will  be  accomplished,  for  all  that,  in  due  time." 

21  Now  the  people  were  waiting  for  Zechariah  and  wonder- 

22  ing  that  he  stayed  so  long  inside  the  sanctuary.  When  he 
did  come  out  he  could  not  speak  to  them,  so  they  realized 
that  he  had  seen  a  vision  in  the  sanctuary;  he  made  signs 

23  to  them  and  remained  dumb.  Then,  after  his  term  of 
service  had  elapsed,  he  went  home. 

24  After  those  days  his  wife  Elizabeth  conceived;   and  for 

25  five  months  she  concealed  herself.  "The  Lord  has  done 
this  for  me,"  she  said,  "he  has  now  deigned  to  remove 
my  reproach  among  men." 

26  .    In  the  sixth  month  the  angel  Gabriel  was  sent  by  God 

27  to  a  town  in  Galilee  called  Nazaret,  to  a  maiden  who  was 
betrothed  to  a  man  called  Joseph,  belonging  to  the  house  of 

28  David.  The  maiden's  name  was  Mary.  The  angel  went  in 
and  said  to  her,  "Hail,  0  favoured  one!   the  Lord  be  with 

29  you!"     At  this  she  was  startled;    she  thought  to  herself, 

30  whatever  can  this  greeting  mean?  But  the  angel  said  to 
her,   "Fear  not,  Mary,  you  have  found  favour  with  God. 

31  You  are  to  conceive  and  bear  a  son,  and  you  must  call  his 
name  Jesus. 

32  He  will  be  great,  he  will  be  called  the  Son  of  the  Most 

High, 
and  the  Lord  God  will  give  him  the  throne  of  David 
his  father; 

33  he  will  reign  over  the  house  ^f  Jacob  for  ever, 

and  to  his  reign  there  will  be  no  end." 

34  "How  can  this  be?"  said  Mary  to  the  angel,  "I  have  no 

35  husband."  The  angel  answered  her,  "The  holy  Spirit  will 
come  upon  you,  the  power  of  the  Most  High  will  over- 
shadow you;  hence  what  is  born  ivill  te  called  holy,  Son  of 

36  God.  Look,  there  is  your  kinswoman  Elizabeth!  Even  she 
has  conceived  a  son  in  her  old  age,  and  she  who  was  called 

37  barren  is  now  in  her  sixth  month;   for  icith   God  notliing 

38  is  ever  impossible.''  Mary  said,  "I  am  here  to  serve  the 
Lord.  Let  it  be  as  you  have  said."  Then  the  angel  went 
away. 

39  In   those    days   Mary   started   with   haste   for   the   hill- 

40  country,  for  a  town  of  Judah;    she  entered  the  house  of 

41  Zechariah  and  saluted  Elizabeth,  and  when  Elizabeth  heard 


S.  LUKE  I  85 

the  salutation  of  Mary,  the  babe  leapt  in  her  womb.     Then 

42  Elizabeth  was  filled  with  the  holy  Spirit;  she  called  out 
with  a  loud  cry, 

"Blessed  among  women  are  you,  and  blessed  is  the  fruit  of 
your  womb! 

43  What  have  I  done  to  have  the  mother  of  my  Lord  come  to 

44  me?    Why,  as  soon  as  the  sound  of  your  salutation  reached 

45  my  ears,  the  babe  leapt  for  joy  within  my  womb.  And 
blessed  is  she  who  believed  that  the  Lord's  words  to  her 

46  would  be  fulfilled."     Then  Mary  said 

*'My  soul  magnifies  the  Lord, 

47  My  spirit  has  joy  in  God  my  Saviour: 

48  for  he  has  considered  the  humiliation  of  his  servant. 
From  this  time  forth  all  generations  will  call  me  blessed, 

49  for  He  who  is  Mighty  has  done  great  things  for  me. 
His  name  is  holy, 

50  his  mercy  is  on  generation  after  generation, 
for  those  who  reverence  him. 

51  He  has  done  a  deed  of  might  with  his  arm, 
he  has  scattered  the  proud  with  their  purposes, 

52  princes  he  has  dethroned  and  the  poor  he  has  uplifted, 

53  he  has  satisfied  the  hungry  with  good  things  and  sent 

the  rich  away  empty. 

54  He  has  succoured  his  servant  Israel, 
mindful  of  his  mercy — 

55  as  he  promised  our  fathers, 

to  have  mercy  on  Abrahaiii  and  his  offspring  for  ever." 

56  Mary  stayed  with  her  about  three  months  and  then  re- 
turned home. 

57  Now  the  time  for  Elizabeth's  delivery  had  elapsed,  and 

58  she  gave  birth  to  a  son.  When  her  neighbours  and  kins- 
folk heard  of  the  Lord's  great  mercy  to  her  they  rejoiced 

59  with  her,  and  on  the  eighth  day  came  to  circumcise  the 
child.    They  were  going  to  call  it  by  the  name  of  its  father 

60  Zechariah,  but  the  mother  told  them,  "No,  the  child  is  to 

61  be  called  John."    They  said  to  her,  "None  of  your  family  is 

62  called  by  that  name."    Then  they  made  signs  to  the  father, 

63  to  find  out  what  he  wanted  the  child  to  be  called,  and  he 
asked  for  a  writing-tablet  and  wrote  down,  "His  name  is 

64  John,"  to  the  astonishment  of  all.  Instantly  his  mouth 
was  opened,  his  tongue  loosed,  and  he  spoke  out  blessing 

65  God.  Then  fear  fell  on  all  their  neighbours,  and  all  these 
events  were  talked  of  through  the  whole  of  the  hill-country 

66  of  Judaea,  All  who  heard  of  it  bore  it  in  mind;  they  said, 
"Whatever  will  this  child  become?"  For  the  hand  of  the 
Lord  was  indeed  with  him. 

67  And  Zechariah  his  father  was  filled  with  the  holy  Spirit; 
he  prophesied  in  these  words. 


86  S.  LUKE  II 

68  "Blessed  he  the  Lord  the  God  of  Israel, 

for  he  has  cared  for  his  people  and  wrought  them 
rede7nption  ; 

69  he  has  raised  up  a  strong  saviour  for  us 

in  the  house  of  his  servant  David — 

70  as  he  promised  of  old  by  the  lips  of  his  prophets — 

71  to  save  us  frotn  our  foes  and  from  the  hand  of  all  who 

hate  us, 

72  to  deal  mercifully  with  our  fathers 

and  to  &e  mindful  of  his  holy  covenant, 

73  of  the  oath  he  swore  to  Abraham  our  father, 

74  that  freed  from  fear  and  from  the  hand  of  our  foes 

75  we  should  worship  him  in  holiness  and  uprightness 

all  our  days  within  his  presence. 

76  And  you,  my  child,  shall  be  called  a  prophet  of  the  Most 

High; 
for  you  shall  go  in  front  of  the  Lord  to  make  his  ways 
ready, 

77  to  bring  his  people  the  knowledge  of  salvation 

through  the  remission  of  their  sins — 

78  by  the  tender  mercy  of  our  God, 

who  will  make  the  Dawn  visit  us  from  on  high, 

79  to  shine  on  those  who  sit  in  darkness  and  in  the  shadow 

of  death, 
to  guide  our  steps  into  the  way  of  peace." 

80  And  the  child  grew,  he  became  strong  in  the  Spirit  and 
remained  in  the  desert  till  the  day  when  he  made  his 
appearance  before  Israel. 


2 


Now    in    those    days   an    edict   was    issued   by   Caesar 
Augustus  for  a  census  of  the  whole  world.     (This  was 
the  first  census,  and  it  took  place  when  Quirinius  was  gov- 

3  ernor  of  Syria.)     So  everyone  went  to  be  registered,  each 

4  at  his  own  town,  and  as  Joseph  belonged  to  the  house  and 
family  of  David  he  went  up  from  Galilee  to  Judaea,  from 

5  the  town  of  Nazaret  to  David's  town  called  Bethlehem,  to 

6  be  registered  along  with  Mary  his  wife.    She  was  pregnant, 
and  while  they  were  there  the   days  elapsed  for  her  de- 

7  livery;    she  gave  birth  to  her  firstborn  son,  and  as  there 
was  no  room  for  them  inside  the  khan  she  wrapped  him 

8  up  and  laid  him  in  a  stall  for  cattle.     There  were  some 
shepherds  in  the  district  who  were  out  in  the  fields  keep- 

9  ing  guard  over  their  flocks  by  night;   and  an  angel  of  the 
Lord  flashed  upon  them,  the  glory  of  the  Lord  shone  all 

10  round  them.  They  were  terribly  afraid,  but  the  angel  said 
to  them,  "Have  no  fear.  This  is  good  news  I  am  bringin^r 
you,  news  of  a  great  joy  that  is  meant  for  all  the  People. 


S.  LUKE  II  87 

11  To-day  you  have  a  saviour  born  in  the  town  of  David, 

12  the  Lord  messiah.  And  here  is  a  proof  for  you:  you  will 
find  a  baby  wrapped  up  and  lying  in  a  stall  for  cattle." 

13  Then  a  host  of  heaven's  army  suddenly  appeared  beside 
the  angel  extolling  God  and  saying, 

14  "Glory  to  God  in  high  heaven, 

and  peace  on  earth  for  men  whom  he  favours!" 

15  Now  when  the  angels  had  left  them  and  gone  away  to 
heaven,  the  shepherds  said  to  one  another,  "Let  us  be  off 
to  Bethlehem  to  see  this  thing  that  the  Lord  has  told  us 

16  of."     So  they  made  haste  and  discovered  Mary  and  Joseph 

17  and  the  baby  lying  in  the  stall  for  cattle.  When  they  saw 
this    they    told    people    about    the    word    which    had   been 

18  spoken  to  them  about  the  child;    all  who  heard  it  were 

19  astonished  at  the  story  of  the  shepherds,  and  as  for  Mary, 

20  she  treasured  it  all  up  and  mused  upon  it.  Then  the  shep- 
herds went  away  back,  glorifying  and  extolling  God  for  all 
they  had  heard  and  seen  as  they  had  been  told  they 
would. 

21  When  the  eight  days  had  passed  for  his  circumcision,  he 
was  named  Jesus — the  name  given  by  the  angel  before  he 
had  been  conceived  in  the  womb. 

22  When  the  days  for  their  purification  in  terms  of  the 
Mosaic   law  had   elapsed,   they  brought  him  up  to   Jeru- 

23  sal  em  to  present  him  to  the  Lord  (as  it  is  written  in  the 
law  of  the  Lord:  every  male  that  opens  the  womh  must  te 

24  considered  consecrated  to  the  Lord)  and  also  to  offer  the 
sacrifice  prescribed  in  the  law  of  the  Lord,  a  pair  of  turtle- 

25  doves  or  two  young  pigeons.  Now  there  was  a  man  in 
Jerusalem  called  Symeon,  an  upright  and  devout  man,  who 
was  on  the  outlook  for  the  Consolation  of  Israel.    The  holy 

26  Spirit  was  upon  him;  indeed  it  had  been  revealed  to  him 
by  the  holy  Spirit  that  he  was  not  to  see  death  before 

27  he  had  seen  the  Lord  messiah.  By  an  inspiration  of  the 
Spirit  he  came  to  the  temple,  and  when  the  parents  of  the 
child  Jesus  carried  him  in  to  perform  the  customary  regu- 

28  lations  of  the  law  for  him,  then  Symeon  took  him  in  his 
arms,  blessed  God,  and  said, 

29  "Now,  Master,  thou  canst  let  thy  servant  go, 

and  go  in  peace,  as  thou  didst  promise; 

30  for  mine  eyes  have  seen  thy  saving  power 

31  which   thou   hast   prepared   hefore   the  face  of  all  the 

peoples, 

32  to  1)6  a  light  of  revelation  for  the  Gentiles 

and  a  glory  to  thy  people  Israeli 

33  His  father  and  mother  were   astonished   at  these  words 

34  about  him,  but  Symeon  blessed  them,  and  to  his  mother 
Mary  he  said,  "This  child  is  destined  for  the  downfall  as 


88  S.  LUKE  III 

well  as  for  the  rise  of  many  a  one  in  Israel;   destined  to 
be  a  Sign  for  man's  attack — to  bring  out  the  secret  aims  of 

35  many  a  heart.  And  your  own  soul  will  be  pierced  by  a 
spear." 

36  There  was  also  a  prophetess,  Hannah  the  daughter  of 
Phanuel,  who  belonged  to  the  tribe  of  Asher;  she  was 
advanced  in  years,  having  lived  seven  years  with  her  hus- 

37  band  after  her  girlhood  and  having  been  a  widow  for 
eighty-four  years.     She  was  never  away  from  the  temple; 

38  night  and  day  she  worshipped,  fasting  and  praying.  Now 
at  that  very  hour  she  came  up,  and  she  offered  praise  to 
God  and  spoke  of  him  to  all  who  were  .on  the  outlook 
for  the  redemption  of  Jerusalem. 

39  When  they  had  finished  all  the  regulations  of  the  law  of 
the  Lord,  they  returned  to  Galilee,  to  their  own  town  of 

40  Nazaret.  And  the  child  grew  and  became  strong;  he  was 
filled  with  wisdom,   and  the  favour   of  God  was  on   him. 

41  Every  year  his  parents  used  to  travel  to  Jerusalem  at  the 

42  passover  festival;  and  when  he  was  twelve  years  old  they 

43  went  up  as  usual  to  the  festival.  After  spending  the  full 
number  of  days  they  came  back,  but  the  boy  Jesus  stayed 
behind  in  Jerusalem.     His  parents  did  not  know  of  this; 

44  they  supposed  he  was  in  the  caravan  and  travelled  on  for 
a   day,   searching  for  him   among  their   kinsfolk   and  ac- 

45  quaintances.     Then,  as  they  failed  to  find  him,  they  came 

46  back  to  Jerusalem  in  search  of  him.  Three  days  later  they 
found  him  in  the  temple,  seated  among  the  teachers,  listen- 

47  ing  to  them  and  asking  them  questions,  till  all  his  hearers 

48  were  amazed  at  the  intelligence  of  his  own. answers.  When 
his  parents  saw  him  they  were  astounded,  and  his  mother 
said  to  him,  "My  son,  why  have  you  behaved  like  this  to 
us?     Here  have  your  father  and  I  been  looking  for  you 

49  anxiously!"    "Why  did  you  look  for  me?"  he  said,  "Did  you 

50  not  know  I  had  to  be  at  my  Father's  house?"     But  they 

51  did  not  understand  what  he  said.  Then  he  went  down 
along  with  them  to  Nazaret,  and   did  as  they  told  him. 

52  His  mother  treasured  up  everything  in  her  heart.  And 
Jesus  increased  in  wisdom  and  in  stature,  and  in  favour 
with  God  and  man. 

3  Now  in  the  fifteenth  year  of  the  reign  of  Tiberius 
Caesar,  when  Pontius  Pilate  was  governor  of  Judaea. 
Herod  being  tetrarch  of  Galilee,  Philip  his  brother  tetrarch 
of   the   country   of    Ituraea   and    Trachonitis,    and    Lysias 

2  tetrarch  of  Abilene,  during  the  high  priesthood  of  Annas 
and   Caiaphas   the   word   of   God   came   to   John   the   son 

3  of  Zechariah  in  the  desert;   and  he  went  into  all  the  Jor- 
dan-district  preaching   a   baptism   of   repentance   for   the 


S.  LUKE  III  89 

4  remission  of  sins — as  it  is  written  in  the  book  of  the  say- 
ings of  the  prophet  Isaiah, 

The  voice  of  one  who  cries  in  the  desert, 
'Make  the  way  ready  for  the  Lord, 
level  the  paths  for  him. 

5  Every  valley  shall  be  filled  up, 

every  hill  and  mound  laid  low, 
the  crooked  made  straight, 
the  rough  roads  smooth; 

6  so  shall  all  flesh  see  the  saving  power  of  God* 

7  To  the  crowds  who  came  out  to  get  baptized  by  him  John 
said,  "You  brood  of  vipers,  who  told  you  to  flee  from  the 

8  coming  Wrath?  Now,  produce  fruits  that  answer  to  your 
repentance,  instead  of  beginning  to  say  to  yourselves,  *We 
have  a  father  in  Abraham.'     I  tell  you,  God  can  raise  up 

9  children  for  Abraham  from  these  stones!  The  axe  is  lying 
all  ready  at  the  root  of  the  trees;  any  tree  that  is  not 
producing  good  fruit  will  be  cut  down  and  thrown  into 
the  fire." 

10  The   crowds   asked   him,    "Then   what   are   we   to    do?" 

11  He  replied,  "Let  everyone  who  possesses  two  shirts  share 
with  him  who  has  none,  and  let  him  who  has  food  do  like- 

12  wise."     Taxgatherers  also  came  to  get  baptized,  and  they 

13  said  to  him,  "Teacher,  what  are  we  to  do?"     He  said  to 

14  them,  "Never  exact  more  than  your  fixed  rate."  Soldiers 
also  asked  him,  "And  what  are  we  to  do?"  He  said  to 
them,  "Never  extort  money,  never  lay  a  false  charge,  but 
be  content  with  your  pay." 

15  Now  as  people's  expectations  were  roused  and  as  every-, 
body   thought    to    himself    about   John,    "Can   he   be   the 

16  Christ,"  John  said  to  them  all, 

"I  baptize  you  with  water, 
but  after  me  one  who  is  mightier  will  come, 
and  I  am  not  fit  to  untie  the  string  of  his  sandals; 
he  will  baptize  you  with  the  holy  Spirit  and  fire. 

17  His  winnowing-fan  is  in  his  hand  to  purge  his  thresh- 

ing-floor, 
to  gather  the  wheat  into  his  granary 
and  burn  the  straw  with  fire  unquenchable." 

18  Thus    with    many   another   appeal   he    spoke   his    message 

19  to  the  people.  But  Herod  the  tetrarch,  who  had  been 
reproved  by  him  for  Herodias  his  brother's  wife  as  well  as 
for   all   the   wickedness   that   he,    Herod,   had  committed, 

20  crowned  all  by  shutting  John  up  in  prison. 

21  Now  when  all  the  people  had  been  baptized  and  when 
Jesus  had  been  baptized  and  was  praying,  heaven  opened 

22  and  the  holy  Spirit  descended  in  bodily  form  like  a  dove 
upon  him;  and  a  voice  came  from  heaven, 


90  S.  LUKE  IV 

"Thou  art  my  son,  the  Beloved, 

to-day  have  I  become  thy  father."  * 

23  At  the  outset  Jesus  was  about  thirty  years  of  age;   he 
was  the   son,   as  people   supposed,  of  Joseph,   the  son  of 

24  Heli,  the  son  of  Matthat,  the  son  of  Levi,  the  son  of  Melchi, 

25  the  son  of  Jannai,  the  son  of  Joseph,  the  son  of  Mattathias, 
the   son   of   Amos,    the   son   of   Nahum,   the    son   of   Esli, 

26  the   son   of   Naggai,    the   son   of  Maath,    the   son   of   Mat- 
tathias,   son    of    Semein,    the    son    of    Josech,    the    son    of 

27  Joda,   the   son   of  Joanan,   the   son   of  Rhesa,    the  son   of 

28  Zerubbabel,  the  son  of  Shealtiel,  the  son  of  Neri,  the  son  of 
Melchi,   the  son  of  Addi,   the   son  of   Kosam,   the  son  of 

29  Elmadam,   the   son   of   Er,   the   son  of   Jesus,   the   son  of 

30  Eliezer,  the  son  of  Jorim,  the  son  of  Matthat,  the  son  of 
Symeon,  the  son  of  Judas,  the  son  of  Joseph,  the  son  of 

31  Jonam,  the  son  of  Eliakim,  the  son  of  Melea,  the  son  of 
Menna,  the  son  of  Mattatha,  the  son  of  Nathan,  the  son 

32  of  David,  the  son  of  Jessai,  the  son  of  Jobed,  the  son  of 

33  Boaz,   the   son   of   Sala,   the   son  of  Nahshon,   the   son  of 
Aminadab,  the  son  of  Admin,  the  son  of  Arni,  the  son  of 

34  Hezron,   the  son  of  Perez,  the  son  of  Judah,  the  son  of 
Jacob,  the  son  of  Isaac,  the  son  of  Abraham,  the  son  of 

35  Terah,   the  son  of  Nachor,  the  son  of  Serug,  the  son  of 

36  Reu,  the  son  of  Peleg,  the  son  of  Eber,  the  son  of  Sala,  the 
son  of  Kainan,  the  son  of  Arphaxad,  the  son  of  Shem,  the 

37  son  of  Noah,  the  son  of  Lamech,  the  son  of  Methuselah, 
the  son  of  Enoch,  the  son  of  Jared,  the  son  of  Maleleel,  the 

38  son  of  Kainan,  the  son  of  Enos,  the  son  of  Seth,  the  son  of 
Adam,  the  son  of  God. 

4  From    the    Jordan    Jesus   came   back   full    of   the   holy 
Spirit,  and  for  forty  days  he  was  led  by  the  Spirit  in  the 

2  desert,  while  the  devil  tempted  him.     During  these  days  he 

3  ate  nothing,  and  when  they  were  over  he  felt  hungry.    The 
devil  said  to  him,  "If  you  are  God's  son,  tell  this  stone  to 

4  become  a  loaf."    Jesus  replied  to  him,  "It  is  written,  Man 

5  is  not  to  live  on  bread  alone:'     Then  he  lifted  Jesus  up 
and  showed  him  all  the  realms  of  the  universe  in  a  single 

6  instant;  and  the  devil  said  to  him,  "I  will  give  you  all  their 
power  and  grandeur,  for  it  has  been  made  over  to  me  and 

7  I   can  give   it   to  anyone   I   choose.     If  you  will  worship 

8  before  me,  then  it  shall  all  be  yours."   Jesus  answered  him, 
"It  is  written.  You  must  worsliip  the  Lord  your  Ood,  and 

9  serve   him  alone."     Then  he  brought  him   to   Jerusalem 

*  Reading  ^7w  <T-f}nepov  yey^pprjKd  <re,  with  D,  the  Old  Latin,  Justin, 
Clement,  Tyconius,  etc.  In  the  other  MSS  it  has  been  altered,  for 
harmonistic  reasons. 


S.  LUKE  IV  91 

and  placing  him  on  the  pinnacle  of  the  temple   said  to 
him,  "If  you  are  God's  son,  throw  yourself  down  from  this; 

10  for  it  is  written. 

He  will  give  his  angels  charge  of  you, 

11  and 

They  will  dear  you  on  their  hands, 

lest  you  strike  your  foot  against  a  stone." 

12  Jesus  answered  him,  "It  has  been  said,  You  shall  not  tempt 

13  the  Lord  your  God"  And  after  exhausting  every  kind  of 
temptation  the  devil  left  him  till  a  fit  opportunity  arrived. 

14  Then  Jesus  came  back  in  the  power  of  the  Spirit  to 
Galilee,  and  the  news  of  him  spread  over  all  the  surround- 

15  ing  country.    He  taught  in  their  synagogues  and  was  glori- 

16  fied  by  all.  Then  he  came  to  Nazaret,  where  he  had  been 
brought  up,  and  on  the  sabbath  he  entered  the  synagogue 

17  as  was  his  custom.  He  stood  up  to  read  the  lesson  and 
was  handed  the  book  of  the  prophet  Isaiah;  on  opening  the 
book  he  came  upon  the  place  where  it  was  written, 

18  The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  is  upon  me: 

for  he  has  consecrated  me  to  preach  the  gospel  to  the 

poor, 
he  has  sent  me  to  proclaim  release  for  captives 

and  recovery  of  sight  for  the  Mind, 
to  set  free  the  oppressed, 

19  to  proclaim  the  Lord's  year  of  favour. 

20  Then,  folding  up  the  book,  he  handed  it  back  to  the 
attendant  and  sat  down.    The  eyes  of  all  in  the  synagogue 

21  were  fixed  on  him,  and  he  proceeded  to  tell  them  that 

22  "To-day,  this  scripture  is  fulfilled  in  your  hearing."  All 
spoke  well  of  him  and  marvelled  at  the  gracious  words 
that  came  from  his  lips;   they  said,  "Is  this  not  Joseph's 

23  son?"  So  he  said  to  them,  "No  doubt  you  will  repeat  to 
me  this  proverb,  'Doctor,  cure  yourself!'  'Do  here  in  your 
own  country  all  we  have  heard  you  did  in  Capharnahum.' '" 

24  He  added,  "I  tell  you  truly,  no  prophet  is  ever  welcome 

25  in  his  native  place.    I  tell  you  for  a  fact. 

In  Israel  there  were  many  widows  during  the  days  of 

Elijah, 
when  the  sky  was  closed  for  three  years  and  six 

months, 
when  a  great  famine  came  over  all  the  land: 

26  yet  Elijah  was  not  sent  to  any  of  these, 

but  only  to  a  widow  wotnan  at  Zarephath  in  Sidon. 

27  And  in  Israel  there* were  many  lepers  in  the  time  of  the 

prophet  Elisha, 
yet  none  of  these  was  cleansed, 
but  only  Naaman  the  Syrian." 

28  When  they  heard  this,  all  in  the  synagogue  were  filled 


92  S.  LUKE  V 

29  with  rage;  they  rose  up,  put  him  out  of  the  town,  and 
brought  him  to  the  brow  of  the  hill  on  which  their  town 

SO  was  built,  in  order  to  hurl  him  down.  But  he  made  his 
way  through  them  and  went  off. 

31  Then  he  went  down  to  Capharnahum,  a  town  of  Galilee, 

32  and  on  the  sabbath  he  taught  the  people;  they  were 
astounded  at  his  teaching,  for  his  word  came  with  author- 

33  ity.  Now  in  the  synagogue  there  was  a  man  possessed  by 
the    spirit    of    an    unclean    daemon,    who    shrieked    aloud, 

34  "Ha!  Jesus  of  Nazaret,  what  business  have  you  with  us? 
Have  you  come  to  destroy  us?     I  know  who  you  are,  you 

35  are  God's  holy  One!"  But  Jesus  checked  it,  saying,  "Be 
quiet,  come  out  of  him."  And  after  throwing  him  down 
before  them  the  daemon  did  come  out  of  him  without  doing 

36  him  any  harm.  Then  amazement  came  over  them  all; 
they  talked  it  over  among  themselves,  saying,  "What  does 
this  mean?     He  orders  the  unclean  spirits  with  authority 

37  and  power,  and  they  come  out!"  And  a  report  of  him 
spread  over  all  the  surrounding  country. 

38  When  he  got  up  to  leave  the  synagogue  he  went  to  the 
house  of  Simon.  Simon's  mother-in-law  was  laid  up  with  a 
severe    attack    of    fever,    so    they   asked    him    about   her; 

39  he  stood  over  her  and  checked  the  fever,  and  it  left  her. 

40  Then  she  instantly  got  up  and  ministered  to  them.  At 
sunset  all  who  had  any  people  ill  with  any  sort  of  disease 
brought  them  to  him;  he  laid  his  hands  on  everyone  and 

41  healed  them.  From  many  people  daemons  were  also  driven 
out,  clamouring  aloud,  "You  are  God's  son!"  But  he 
checked  them  and  refused  to  let  them  say  anything,  as 

42  they  knew  he  was  the  Christ.  When  day  broke  he  went 
away  out  to  a  lonely  spot,  but  the  crowds  made  inquiries 
about   him,    came    to    where    he    was,    and    tried    to    keep 

43  him  from  leaving  them.  He  answered  them,  "I  must 
preach  the  glad  news  of  the  Reign  of  God  to  the  other 

44  towns  as  well,  for  that  is  what  I  was  sent  to  do."  So  he 
went  preaching  through  the  synagogues  of  Judaea. 

5  Now  as  the  crowd  were  pressing  on  him  to  listen  to  the 
word  of  God,  he  saw,  as  he  stood  beside  the  lake  of  Gen- 
nesaret,  two  boats  on  the  shore  of  the  lake;  the  fishermen 

3  had  disembarked  and  were  washing  their  nets.  So  he 
entered  one  of  the  boats,  which  belonged  to  Simon,  and 
asked  him  to  push  out  a  little  from  the  land.     Then  he  sat 

4  down  and  taught  the  people  frpm  the  boat.  When  he 
stopped  speaking,  he  said  to  Simon,  "Push  out  to  the  deep 

5  water  and  lower  your  nets  for  a  take."  Simon  replied, 
"Master,  we  worked  all  night  and  got  nothing!     However, 

6  I  will  lower  the  nets  at  your  command."     And  when  they 


S.  LUKE  V  93 

did  so,  they  enclosed  a  huge  shoal  of  fish,  so  that  their 

7  nets   began   to   break.     Then   they   made   signals   to   their 
mates  in  the  other  boat  to  come  and  assist  them.     They 

8  came  and  filled  both  the  boats,  till  they  began  to  sink.    But 
when  Simon  Peter  saw  it  he  fell  at  the  knees  of  Jesus,  cry- 

9  ing,  "Lord,  leave  me;  I  am  a  sinful  man."    For  amazement 
had  seized  him  and  all  his  companions  at  the  take  of  fish 

10  they  had  caught;  as  was  the  case  with  James  and  John,  the 
sons  of  Zebedaeus,  who  were  partners  of  Simon.  Then  said 
Jesus  to  Simon,  "Have  no  fear;  from  now  your  catch  will 

11  be  men."  Then  they  brought  the  boats  to  land,  and  leav- 
ing all  they  followed  him. 

12  When  he  was  in  one  of  their  towns  there  was  a  man  full 
of  leprosy  who,  on  seeing  Jesus,  fell  on  his  face  and  be- 
sought him,  "If  you  only  choose,  sir,  you  can  cleanse  me." 

13  So  he  stretched  his  hand  out  and  touched  him,  with  the 
words,  "I  do  choose,  be  cleansed."    And  the  leprosy  at  once 

14  left  him.  Jesus  ordered  him  not  to  say  a  word  to  anybody, 
but  to  "Go  off  and  show  yourself  to  the  priest,  and  offer 
whatever   Moses  prescribed  for  your  cleansing,   to   notify 

15  men."  But  the  news  of  him  spread  abroad  more  and  more; 
large  crowds  gathered  to  hear  him  and  to  be  healed  of  their 

16  complaints,  while  he  kept  in  lonely  places  and  prayed. 

17  One  day  he  was  teaching,  and  near  him  sat  Pharisees 
and  doctors  of  the  Law  who  had  come  from  every  village 
of  Galilee  and  Judaea  as  well  as  from  Jerusalem.  Now  the 
power  of  the  Lord  was  present  for  the  work  of  healing. 

18  Some  men  came  up  carrying  a  man  who  was  paralysed ;  they 
tried  to  carry  him  inside  and  lay  him  in  front  of  Jesus, 

19  but  when  they  could  not  find  any  means  of  getting  him  in, 
on  account  of  the  crowd,  they  climbed  to  the  top  of  the 
house  and  let  him  down  through  the  tiles,  mattress  and  all, 

20  among  the  people  in  front  of  Jesus.     When  he  saw  their 

21  faith  he  said,  "Man,  your  sins  are  forgiven  you."  Then  the 
scribes  and  Pharisees  began  to  argue,  "Who  is  this  blas- 
phemer?     Who    can    forgive    sins,    who    but    God    alone?" 

22  Conscious    that    they   were    arguing    to    themselves,   Jesus 

23  addressed  them,  saying,  "Why  argue  in  your  hearts?  Which 
is  the  easier  thing,  to  say,  'Your  sins  are  forgiven,'  or  to 

24  say,  'Rise  and  walk'?  But  to  let  you  see  the  Son  of  man 
has  power  on  earth  to  forgive  sins" — he  said  to  the  par- 
alysed man,  "Rise,   I   tell   you,  lift  your   mattress  and   go 

25  home."     Instantly  he  got  up  before  them,  lifted  what  he 

26  had  been  lying  on,  and  went  home  glorifying  God.  And  all 
were  seized  with  astonishment;  they  glorified  God  and  were 
filled  with  awe,  saying,  "We  have  seen  incredible  things  to- 
day." 

27  On  going  outside  after  this  he  noticed  a  taxgatherer  called 


94  S.  LUKE  VI 

Levi  sitting  at  the  tax-ofRce  and  said  to  him,  "Follow  me"; 
II  he  rose,  left  everything  and  followed  him.     Levi  held  a 
great  banquet  for  him  in  his  house;  there  was  a  large  com- 
pany present  of  taxgatherers  and  others  who  were  guests 

30  along  with  them.    But  the  Pharisees  and  their  scribes  com- 
plained to  his  disciples,  "Why  do  you  eat  and  drink  with 

31  taxgatherers  and  sinners?"    Jesus  replied  to  them, 

"Healthy  people  have  no  need  of  a  doctor,  but  those  who 
are  ill: 

32  I  have  not  come  to  call  just  men  but  sinners  to  repent- 

ance." 

33  They  said  to  him,  "The  disciples  of  John  fast  frequently 
and  offer  prayers,  as  do  the  disciples  of  the  Pharisees;  but 

34  your  adherents  eat  and  drink."    Jesus  said  to  them, 

"Can  you  make  friends  at  a  wedding  fast  while  the  bride- 
groom is  beside  them? 

35  A  time  will  come  when  the  bridegroom  is  taken   from 

them,  and  then  they  will  fast  at  that  time." 

36  He  also  told  them  a  parable: 

"No  one  tears  a  piece  from  a  new  cloak  and  sews  it  on  an 
old  cloak; 
otherwise  he  will  tear  the  new  cloak, 
and  the  new  piece  will  not  match  with  the  old. 

37  No  one  pours  fresh  wine  into  old  wineskins; 

otherwise  the  fresh  wine  will  burst  the  wineskins, 
the   wine   will   be    spilt   and    the   wineskins    ruined. 

38  No,  fresh  wine  must  be  poured  into  new  wineskins. 

39  Besides,   no   one   wants   new   wine    [immediately]    after 

drinking  old; 
'The  old,'  he  says,  'is  better.' " 


6  One  sabbath  it  happened  that  as  he  was  crossing  the 
cornfields  his  disciples  pulled  some  ears  of  corn  and  ate 

2  tbem,  rubbing  them  in  their  hands.  Some  of  the  Pharisees 
said,  "Why  are  you  doing  what  is  not  allowed  on  the  sab- 

3  bathT'  But  Jesus  answered  them,  "And  have  you  never 
read  what  David  did  when  he  and  his  men  were  hungry? 

4  He  went  into  the  house  of  God,  took  the  loaves  of  the  Pres- 
ence and  ate  them,  giving  them  to  his  men  as  well — bread 

5  that  no  one  is  allowed  to  eat  except  the  priests."  And  he 
said  to  them,  "The  Son  of  man  is  lord  even  over  the  sab- 
bath." 

6  Another  sabbath  he  happened  to  go  into  the  synagogue 
and  teach.     Now  a  man  was  there  who  had  his  right  hand 

7  withered,  and  the  scribes  and  Pharisees  watched  to  see  if 
he  would  heal  on  the  sabbath,  so  as  to  discover  some  charge 

8  against  him.    He  knew  what  was  in  their  minds ;  so  he  told 


S.  LUKE  VI  95 

the  man  with  the  withered  hand,  "Rise  and  stand  forward." 

9  He  rose  and  stood  before  them.     Then  Jesus  said  to  them, 

"I  ask  you,  is  it  right  on  the  sabbath  to  help  or  to  hurt, 

10  to  save  life  or  to  kill?"  And  glancing  round  at  them  all  in 
anger  he  said  to  the  man,  "Stretch  out  your  hand."     He 

11  did  so,  and  his  hand  was  quite  restored.  This  filled  them 
with  fury,  and  they  discussed  what  they  could  do  to  Jesus. 

12  It  was  in  these  days  that  he  went  off  to  the  hillside  to 

13  pray.  He  spent  the  whole  night  in  prayer  to  God,  and  when 
day  broke  he  summoned  his  disciples,  choosing  twelve  of 

14  them,  to  whom  he  gave  the  name  of  'apostles':  Simon  (to 
whom  he  gave  the  name  of  Peter),  Andrew  his  brother, 

15  James,  John,  Philip,  Bartholomew,  Matthew,  Thomas,  James 
the  son  of  Alphaeus,  Simon  (who  was  called  'the  Zealot'), 

16  Judas  the  son  of  James,  and  Judas  Iscariot    (who  turned 

17  traitor).  With  them  he  came  down  the  hill  and  stood  on 
a  level  spot.  There  was  a  great  company  of  his  disciples 
with  him,  and  a  large  multitude  of  people  from  all  Judaea, 
from  Jerusalem,  and  from  the  coast  of  Tyre  and  Sidon,  who 
had  come  to  hear  him  and  to  get  cured  of  their  diseases. 

18  Those  who  were  annoyed  with  unclean  spirits  also  were 

19  healed.  Indeed  the  whole  of  the  crowd  made  efforts  to 
touch  him,  for  power  issued  from  him  and  cured  everybody. 

20  Then,  raising  his  eyes  he  looked  at  his  disciples  and  said: 

"Blessed  are  you  poor! 

the  Realm  of  God  is  yours. 

21  Blessed  are  you  who  hunger  to-day! 

you  shall  be  satisfied. 
Blessed  are  you  who  weep  to-day! 
you  shall  laugh. 

22  Blessed  are  you  when  men  will  hate  you, 

when  they  will  excommunicate  you  and  denounce  you 
and  defame  you  as  wicked  on  account  of  the  Son 
of  man; 

23  rejoice  on  that  day  and  leap  for  joy! 
rich  is  your  reward  in  heaven — 

for  their  fathers  did  the  very  same  to  the  prophets. 

24  But  woe  to  you  rich  folk! 

you  get  all  the  comforts  you  will  ever  get. 

25  Woe  to  you  who  have  your  fill  to-day! 

you  will  be  hungry. 
Woe  to  you  who  laugh  to-day! 
you  will  wail  and  weep. 

26  Woe  to  you  when  all  men  speak  well  of  you! 

that   is    just   what   their   fathers    did    to    the    false 
prophets. 

27  I  tell  you,  my  hearers, 

love  your  enemies,  do  good  to  those  who  hate  you: 


96  S.  LUKE  VI 

28  bless  those  who  curse  you,  pray  for  those  who  abuse 

you. 

29  If  a  man  strikes  you  on  the  one  cheek, 

offer  him  the  other  as  well: 
if  anyone  takes  your  coat, 

do  not  deny  him  your  shirt  as  well; 

30  give  to  anyone  who  asks  you, 

and  do  not  ask  your  goods  back  from  anyone  who  has 
taken  them. 

31  As  you  would  like  men  to  do  to  you, 

so  do  to  them. 

32  If  you  love  only  those  who  love  you,  what  credit  is  that 

to  you? 
Why,  even  sinful  men  love  those  who  love  them. 

33  If  you  help  only  those  who  help  you,  what  merit  is  that 

to  you? 
Why,  even  sinful  men  do  that. 

34  If  you  only  lend  to  those  from  whom  you  hope  to  get  some- 

thing, what  credit  is  that  to  you? 
Even  sinful  men  lend  to  one  another,  so  as  to  get  a 
fair  return. 

35  No,  you  must  love  your  enemies  and  help  them, 

you  must  lend  to  them  without  expecting  any  return; 
then  you  will  have  a  rich  reward, 
you  will  be  sons  of  the  Most  High — 

for  he  is  kind  even  to  the  ungrateful  and  the  evil. 

36  Be  merciful, 

as  your  Father  is  merciful. 

37  Also,  judge  not,  and  you  will  not  be  judged  yourselves: 
condemn  not,  and  you  will  not  be  condemned: 
pardon,  and  you  will  be  pardoned  yourselves: 

38  give,  and  you  will  have  ample  measure  given  you — 
they  will  pour  into  your  lap  measure  pressed  down, 

shaken  together,  and  running  over; 
for  the  measure  you   deal  out  to  others  will  be  dealt 
back  to  yourselves." 

39  He  also  told  them  a  parabolic  word: 
"Can  one  blind  man  lead  another? 

will  they  not  both  fall  into  a  pit? 

40  A  scholar  is  not  above  his  teacher: 

but  if  he  is  perfectly  trained  he  will  be  like  his  teacher. 

41  Why  do  you  note  the  splinter  in  your  brother's  eye  and 

42  fail  to  see  the  plank  in  your  own  eye?  How  dare  you  say 
to  your  brother,  'Brother,  let  me  take  out  the  splinter  that 
is  in  your  eye,'  and  you  never  notice  the  plank  in  your  own 
eye?  You  hypocrite!  take  the  plank  out  of  your  own  eye 
first,  and  then  you  will  see  properly  to  take  out  the  splinter 
in  your  brother's  eye. 


S.  LUKE  VII  97 

43  No  sound  tree  bears  rotten  fruit, 

nor  again  does  a  rotten  tree  bear  sound  fruit: 

44  each  tree  is  known  by  its  fruit. 
Figs  are  not  gathered   from   thorns, 

and  grapes  are  not  plucked  from  a  bramble-bush. 

45  The  good  man  produces  good  from  the  good  stored  in  his 

heart, 
and  the  evil  man  evil  from  his  evil : 
for  a  man's  mouth  utters  what  his  heart  is  full  of. 
*y       Why  call  me,  'Lord,  Lord!'  and  obey  me  not?    Everyone 
who  comes  to  me  and  listens  to  my  words  and  acts  upon 

48  them,  I  will  show  you  whom  he  is  like.  He  is  like  a  man 
engaged  in  building  a  house,  who  dug  deep  down  and  laid 
his  foundation  on  the  rock;  when  a  flood  came,  the  river 
dashed  against  that  house  but  could  not  shake  it,  for  it 

49  had  been  well  built.  He  who  has  listened  and  has  not 
obeyed  is  like  a  man  who  built  a  house  on  the  earth 
with  no  foundation;  the  river  dashed  against  it  and  it  col- 
lapsed at  once,  and  the  ruin  of  that  house  was  great." 


7  When  he  had  finished  what  he  had  to  say  in  the  hearing 
of  the  people,  he  went  into  Capharnahum. 

2  Now  there  was  an  army-captain  who  had  a  servant  ill 
whom  he  valued  very  highly.     This  man  was  at  the  point 

3  of  death;  so,  when  the  captain  heard  about  Jesus,  he  sent 
some  Jewish  elders  to  him,  asking  him  to  come  and  make 

4  his  servant  well.  When  they  reached  Jesus  they  asked 
him  earnestly  to  do  this.    "He  deserves  to  have  this  favour 

5  from  you,"  they  said,  "for  he  is  a  lover  of  our  nation;  it 

6  was  he  who  built  our  synagogue."  So  Jesus  went  with 
them.  But  he  was  not  far  from  the  house  when  the  captain, 
sent  some  friends  to  tell  him,   "Do  not  trouble  yourself, 

7  sir,  I  am  not  fit  to  have  you  under  my  roof,  and  so  I  did  not 
consider  myself  fit  even  to  come  to  you.    Just  say  the  word, 

8  and  let  my  servant  be  cured.  For  though  I  am  a  man  under 
authority  myself,  I  have  soldiers  under  me;  I  tell  one  man 
to  go,  and  he  goes,  I  tell  another  to  come,  and  he  comes, 

9  I  tell  my  servant,  'Do  this,'  and  he  does  it."  When  Jesus 
heard  this  he  marvelled  at  him,  and  turning  to  the  crowd 
that  followed  he  said,  "I  tell  you,  I  have  never  met  faith 

10  like  this  anywhere  even  in  Israel."  Then  the  messengers 
went  back  to  the  house  and  found  the  sick  servant  was  quite 
well. 

11  It  was  shortly  afterwards  that  he  made  his  way  to  a  town 
called    Nain,    accompanied    by    his    disciples    and    a    large 

12  crowd.  Just  as  he  was  near  the  gate  of  the  town,  there 
was  a  dead  man  being  carried  out;  he  was  the  only  son  of 


98  S.  LUKE  Vli 

his  mother,  and  she  was  a  widow.    A  large  crowd  from  the 

13  town  were  with  her.    And  when  the  Lord  saw  her,  he  felt 

14  pity  for  her  and  said  to  her,  "Do  not  weep."  Then  he  went 
forward  and  touched  the  bier;  the  bearers  stopped,  and  he 

15  said,  "Young  man,  I  bid  you  rise."  Then  the  corpse  sat  up 
and  began  to  speak;  and  Jesus  gave  him  back  to  his  mother. 

16  All  were  seized  with  awe  and  glorified  God.  "A  great 
prophet  has  appeared  among  us,"  they  said,  "God  has  visited 

17  his  people,"  And  this  story  of  Jesus  spread  through  the 
whole  of  Judaea  and  all  the  surrounding  country. 

Jl  John's  disciples  reported  all  this  to  him.  So  John  sum- 
moned two  of  his  disciples  and  sent  them  to  ask  the  Lord, 
"Are  you  the  Coming  One?    Or  are  we  to  look  out  for  some- 

20  one  else?"  When  the  men  reached  Jesus  they  said,  "John 
the  Baptist  has  sent  us  to  you  to  ask  if  you  are  the  Coming 

21  One  or  if  we  are  to  look  out  for  someone  else?"  Jesus  at 
that  moment  was  healing  many  people  of  diseases  and 
complaints  and  evil  spirits;  he  also  bestowed  sight  on  many 

22  blind  folk.  So  he  replied,  "Go  and  report  to  John  what 
you  have  seen  and  heard;  that  the  blind  see,  the  lame  walk, 
lepers  are  cleansed,  the  deaf  hear,  the  dead  are  raised,  and 

23  to  the  poor  the  gospel  is  preached.    And  blessed  is  he  who 

24  is  repelled  by  nothing  in  me!"  When  John's  messengers 
had  gone,  he  proceeded  to  speak  to  the  crowds  about  John: 

"What  did  you  go  out  to  the  desert  to  see? 
A  reed  swayed  by  the  wind? 

25  Come,  what  did  you  go  out  to  see? 

A  man  arrayed  in  soft  robes? 

Those  who  are  gorgeously  dressed  and  luxurious  live 
in  royal  palaces. 

26  Come,  what  did  you  go  out  to  see?    A  prophet? 

Yes,  I  tell  you,  and  far  more  than  a  prophet. 

27  This  is  he  of  whom  it  is  written. 

Here  I  send  my  messenger  before  your  face, 
to  prepare  the  way  for  you. 

28  I  tell  you,  among  the  sons  of  women  there  is  none  greater 
than  John,  and  yet  the  least  in  the  Realm  of  God  is  greater 

29  than  he  is."  (On  hearing  this  all  the  people  and  the  tax- 
gatherers  acknowledged  the  justice  of  God,  as  they  had  been 

30  baptized  with  the  baptism  of  John;  but  the  Pharisees  and 
jurists,  who  had  refused  his  baptism,  frustrated  God's 
purpose  for  themselves.) 

31  "To  what  then  shall  I  compare  the  men  of  this  generation? 

What  are  they  like? 

32  Like  children  sitting  in  the  marketplace  and  calling  to 
one  another, 

'We  piped  to  you  and  you  would  not  dance, 
we  lamented  and  you  would  not  weep.' 


S.  LUKE  VlII  99 

33  For  John  the  Baptist  has  come,  eating  no  bread  and 

drinking  no  wine, 
and  you  say,  'He  has  a  devil'; 

34  the  Son  of  man  has  come  eating  and  drinking, 

and  you  say,  'Here  is  a  glutton  and  a  drunkard, 
a  friend  of  taxgatherers  and  sinners!' 

35  Nevertheless,  Wisdom  is  vindicated  by  all  her  children." 

36  One  of  the  Pharisees  asked  him  to  dinner,  and  entering 

37  the  house  of  the  Pharisee  he  reclined  at  table.  Now  there 
was  a  woman  in  the  town  who  was  a  sinner,  and  when  she 
found   out   that  Jesus   was   at  table   in   the   house   of   the 

38  Pharisee  she  brought  an  alabaster  flask  of  perfume  and 
stood  behind  him  at  his  feet  in  tears;  her  tears  began  to 
wet  his  feet,  so  she  wiped  them  with  the  hair  of  her  head, 
pressed  kisses  on  them,  and  anointed  them  with  the  per- 

39  fume.  When  his  host  the  Pharisee  noticed  this,  he  said  to 
himself,  "If  he  was  a  prophet  he  would  know  what  sort  of 
a  woman  this  is  who  is  touching  him;  for  she  is  a  sinner." 

40  Then  Jesus  addressed  him.    "Simon,"  he  said,  "I  have  some- 

41  thing  to  say  to  you."  "Speak,  teacher,"  he  said.  "There 
was  a  moneylender  who  had  two  debtors;   one  owed  him 

42  fifty  pounds,  the  other  five.  As  they  were  unable  to  pay, 
he  freely  forgave  them  both.    Tell  me,  now,  which  of  them 

43  will  love  him  most?"     "I  suppose,"  said  Simon,  "the  man 

44  who  had  most  forgiven."  "Quite  right,"  he  said.  Then 
turning  to  the  woman  he  said  to  Simon,  "You  see  this 
woman?    When  I  came  into  your  house, 

you  never  gave  me  water  for  my  feet, 
while  she  has  wet  my  feet  with  her  tears  and  wiped  them 
with  her  hair; 

45  you  never  gave  me  a  kiss, 

while  ever  since  she  came  in  she  has  kept  pressing 
kisses  on  my  feet; 

46  you  never  anointed  my  head  with  oil, 

while  she  has  anointed  my  feet  with  perfume. 

47  Therefore  I  tell  you,  many  as  her  sins  are,  they  are  for- 
given, for  her  love  is  great;  whereas  he  to  whom  little  is 

48  forgiven  has  but  little  love."     And  he  said  to  her,  "Your 

49  sins  are  forgiven."    His  fellow  guests  began  to  say  to  them- 
60  selves,  "Who  is  this,  to  forgive  even  sins?"    But  he  said  to 

the  woman,  "Your  faith  has  saved  you;  go  in  peace." 

8  Shortly  afterwards  he  went  travelling  from  one  town 
and  village  to  another  preaching  and  telling  the  good 
news  of  the  Reign  of  God;    he  was  accompanied  by  the 

2  twelve  and  by  some  women  who  had  been  healed  of  evil 
spirits  and  illnesses,  Mary  called  Magdalene  (out  of  v/hom 

3  seven  daemons  had  been  driven),  Joanna  the  wife  of  Chuza. 


100  S.  LUKE  VIII 

the  chancellor  of  Herod,  Susanna,  and  a  number  of  others, 

4  who  ministered  to  him  out  of  their  means.  As  a  large 
crowd  was  gathering  and  as  people  were  resorting  to  him 
from   town   after   town,   he   addressed   them   in   a  parable. 

5  "A  sower  went  out  to  sow  his  seed.    And  as  he  sowed, 

some  seed  fell  on  the  road  and  was  trampled  down, 
and  the  wild  birds  ate  it  up; 

6  some  other  seed  dropped  on  the  rock, 

but  it  withered  away  when  it  sprang  up  because  it  had 
no  moisture; 

7  some  other  seed  fell  among  thorns, 

and  the  thorns  sprang  up  along  with  it  and  choked  it; 

8  some  other  seed  fell  on  sound  soil, 

and  springing  up  bore  a  crop,  a  hundredfold." 
When  he  said  this  he  called  out,  "He  who  has  an  ear,  let 

9  him  listen  to  this."     The  disciples  questioned  him  about 

10  the  meaning  of  the  parable;  so  he  said,  "It  is  granted  you 
to  understand  the  open  secrets  of  the  Reign  of  God,  but  the 
others  get  it  in  parables,  so  that 

for  all  their  seeing  they  may  not  see, 

and  for  all  their  heari7ig  they  may  not  understand. 

11  This  is  what  the  parable  means.     The  seed  is  the  word 

12  of  God.  Those  'on  the  road'  are  people  who  hear;  but  then 
the  devil  comes  and  carries  off  the  word  from  their  heart, 

13  that  they  may  not  believe  and  be  saved.  Those  'on  the 
rock'  are  people  who  on  hearing  the  word  welcome  it  with 
enthusiasm,   but   they   have   no    root;    they   believe   for    a 

14  while  and  fall  away  in  the  hour  of  trial.  As  for  the  seed 
that  fell  among  thorns,  that  means  people  who  hear  but 
who  go  and  get  choked  with  worries  and  money  and  the 

15  pleasures  of  life,  so  that  they  never  ripen.  As  for  the  seed 
in  the  good  soil,  that  means  those  who  hear  and  hold  fast 
the  word  in  a  good  and  sound  heart  and  so  bear  fruit  sted- 
fastly. 

16  No  one  lights  a  lamp  and  hides  it  under  a  vessel  or  puts 

it  below  the  bed: 
he  puts  it  on  a  stand  so  that  those  who  come  in  can  see 
the  light. 

17  For  nothing  is  hidden  that  shall  not  be  disclosed, 

nothing  concealed  that  shall  not  be  known  and  revealed. 

18  So  take  care  how  you  listen; 

for  he  who  has,  to  him  shall  more  be  given, 

while  as  for  him  who  has  not,  from  him  shall  be  taken 
even  what  he  thinks  he  has." 

19  His  mother  and  brothers  reached  him  but  they  were  un- 

20  able  to  join  him  for  the  crowd.  Word  was  brought  to  him 
that  "your  mother  and  brothers  are  standing  outside;  they 

21  wish   to    see   you."     But   he   answered,   "My   mother   and 


S.  LUKE  VIII  101 

brothers  are  those  who  listen  to  the  word  of  God  and  obey 
it." 

22  It  happened  on  one  of  these  days  that  he  embarked  in  a 
boat  alone  with  his  disciples  and  said  to  them,   "Let  us 

23  cross  to  the  other  side  of  the  lake."  So  they  set  sail.  Dur- 
ing the  voyage  he  fell  asleep.  But  when  a  gale  of  wind  came 
down  on  the  lake  and  they  were  being  swamped  and  in  peril, 

24  they  went  and  woke  him  up.  "Master,  master,"  they  cried, 
"we  are  drowning!"     So  he  woke  up  and  checked  the  wind 

25  and  the  surf;  they  ceased  and  there  was  a  calm.  Then  he 
said  to  them,  "Where  is  your  faith?"  They  marvelled  in 
awe,  saying  to  one  another,  "Whatever  can  he  be?  He 
gives  orders  to  the  very  winds  and  water,  and  they  obey 

26  him!"    They  put  in  at  the  country  of  the  Gergesenes,  on  the 

27  shore  facing  Galilee.  As  he  stepped  out  on  land  he  was 
met  by  a  man  from  the  town  who  had  daemons  in  him;  for 
a  long  while  he  had  worn  no  clothing,  and  he  stayed  not  in 

28  a  house  but  among  the  tombs.  On  catching  sight  of  Jesus 
he  shrieked  aloud  and  prayed  him  with  a  loud  cry,  "Jesus, 
son  of  God  most  High,  what  business  have  you  with  me? 

29  Do  not  torture  me,  I  beg  of  you."  (For  he  had  charged 
the  unclean  spirit  to  come  out  of  the  man.  Many  a  time 
when  it  had  seized  hold  of  him,  he  had  been  fastened  se- 
cure in  fetters  and  chains,  but  he  would  snap  his  bonds 

30  and  be  driven  by  the  daemon  into  the  desert.)  So  Jesus 
asked  him,  "What  is  your  name?"     "Legion,"  he  said,  for 

31  a  number  of  daemons  had  entered  him.     And  they  begged 

32  him  not  to  order  them  off  to  the  abyss.  Now  a  considerable 
drove  of  swine  was  grazing  there  on  the  hillside,  so  the 
daemons  begged  him  for  leave   to  enter   them.     He  gave 

33  them  leave,  and  the  daemons  came  out  of  the  man  and 
went  into  the  swine;  the  drove  rushed  down  the  steep  slope 

34  into  the  lake  and  were  suffocated.  When  the  herdsmen 
saw  what  had  occurred-  they  fled  and  reported  it  to  the  town 

35  and  the  hamlets.  The  people  came  out  to  see  what  had 
occurred  and  when  they  reached  Jesus  they  discovered  the 
man  whom  the  daemons  had  left,  seated  at  the  feet  of  Jesus, 

36  clothed  and  sane.    That  frightened  them.    They  got  a  report 

37  from  those  who  had  seen  how  the  lunatic  was  cured,  and 
then  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  surrounding  country  of  the 
Gergesenes  asked  him  to  leave  them,  they  were  so  seized 
with   terror.     He   embarked   in   the   boat   and   went   back. 

38  The  man  whom  the  daemons  had  left  begged  that  he  might 
accompany  him.     Jesus,  however,  sent  him  away,  saying, 

39  "Go  home  and  describe  all  that  God  has  done  for  you." 
So  he  went  off  to  proclaim  through  the  whole  town  all  that 
Jesus  had  done  for  him. 

40  On  his  return  Jesus  was  welcomed  by  the  crowd;   they 


102  S.  LUKE  IX 

41  were  all  looking  out  for  him.  A  man  called  Jairus  came, 
who  was  a  president  of  the  synagogue,  and  falling  at  the 

42  feet  of  Jesus  entreated  him  to  come  to  his  house,  for  he 
had  an  only  daughter  about  twelve  years  old  and  she  was 

43  dying.  As  Jesus  went  the  crowds  kept  crushing  him,  and 
a  woman  who  had  had  a  hemorrhage  for  twelve  years  * 

44  which  no  one  could  cure,  came  up  behind  him  and  touched 
the  tassel  of  his  robe.     Her  hemorrhage  instantly  ceased. 

45  Jesus  said,  "Who  touched  me?"  As  everyone  denied  it, 
Peter  and  his  companions  said,  "Master,  the  crowds  are  all 

46  round    you    pressing   hard!"      Jesus    said,    "Somebody    did 

47  touch  me,  for  I  felt  power  had  passed  from  me."  So  when 
the  woman  saw  she  had  not  escaped  notice  she  came  trem- 
bling, and  fallii;g  down  before  him  she  told  before  all  the 
people  why  she  had  touched  him  and  how  she  had  been 

48  instantly  cured.    "Daughter,"  he  said  to  her,  "your  faith  has 

49  made  you  well;  depart  in  peace."  He  was  still  speaking 
when  someone  came  from  the  house  of  the  synagogue- 
president  to  say,  "Your  daughter  is  dead.     Do  not  trouble 

50  the  teacher  any  further."  But  when  Jesus  heard  it  he  said 
to  him,  "Have  no  fear,  only  believe  and  she  shall  get  well." 

51  When  he  reached  the  house  he  would  not  allow  anyone 
to  come  in  with  him  except  Peter  and  James  and  John,  and 

52  the  child's  father  and  mother.  Everyone  was  weeping  and 
bewailing  her,  but  he  said,  "Stop  weeping;  she  is  not  dead 

53  but  asleep."     They  laughed  at  him,  knowing  that  she  was 

54  dead.    But  he  took  her  hand  and  called  to  her,  "Rise,  little 

55  girl."     And  her  spirit  returned,  she  got  up  instantly,  and 

56  he  ordered  them  to  give  her  something  to  eat.  Her  parents 
were  amazed,  but  he  charged  them  not  to  tell  anyone  what 
had  happened. 

9  Calling  the  twelve  apostles  together  he  gave  them  power 
and  authority  over  all  daemons  as  well  as  to  heal  diseases. 

2  He  sent  them  out  to  preach  the  Reign  of  God  and  to  cure 

3  the  sick.    And  he  told  them,  "Take  nothing  for  the  journey, 
neither  stick  nor  wallet  nor  bread  nor  silver,  and  do  not 

4  carry  two  shirts.    Whatever  house  you  go  into,  stay  there 

5  and  leave  from  there.    Whoever  will  not  receive  you,  leave 
that  town  and  shake  off  the  very  dust  from  your  feet  as  a 

6  testimony  against  them."    So  they  went  out  from  village  to 
village  preaching  the  gospel  and  healing  everywhere. 

7  When  Herod  the  tetrarch  heard  all  that  was  going  on,  he 
was  quite  at  a  loss;  for  some  said  that  John  had  risen  from 

8  the  dead,  some  that  Elijah  had  appeared,  and  others  that 

*  Omitting  iarpois  irpoaapaXwaaaa  6\ov  rbv  Slov  with  BD  arm.  Syr.Sin. 


S.  LUKE  IX  .  103 

9  one  of  the  ancient  prophets  had  arisen.  Herod  said,  "John 
I  beheaded.  But  who  is  this,  of  whom  I  hear  such  tales?" 
And  he  made  efforts  to  see  him. 

10  Then  the  apostles  came  back  and  described  all  they  had 
done  to  Jesus,     He  took  them  and  retired  in  private  to  a 

11  town  called  Bethsaida,  but  the  crowds  learned  this  and 
followed  him.  He  welcomed  them,  spoke  to  them  of  the 
Reign  of  God,  and  cured  those  who  needed  to  be  healed. 

12  Now  as  the  day  began  to  decline  the  twelve  came  up  to  him 
and  said,  "Send  the  crowd  off  to  lodge  in  the  villages  and 
farms  around  and  get  provisions  there,  for  here  we  are  in 

13  a  desert  place."  He  said  to  them,  "Give  them  some  food 
yourselves."  They  said,  "We  have  only  got  five  loaves  and 
two  fish.    Unless — are  we  to  go  and  buy  food  for  the  whole 

14  of  this  people?"  (There  were  about  five  thousand  men  of 
them.)     He  said  to  his  disciples,  "Make  them  lie  down  in 

15  rows  of  about  fifty."     They  did  so,  and  made  them  all  lie 

16  down.  Then  taking  the  five  loaves  and  the  two  fish  and 
looking  up  to  heaven  he  blessed  them,  broke  them  in  pieces 
and  handed  them  to  the  disciples  to  set  before  the  crowd. 

17  And  they  all  ate  and  had  enough.  What  they  had  left  over 
was  picked  up,  twelve  baskets  full  of  fragments. 

18  Now  it  happened  that  while  he  was  praying  by  himself 
his  disciples  were  beside  him.     So  he   inquired  of  them, 

19  "Who  do  the  crowds  say  I  am?"  They  replied,  "John  the 
Baptist,  though  some  say  Elijah  and  some  say  that  one  of 

20  the  ancient  prophets  has  arisen."  He  said  to  them,  "And 
who  do  you  say  I  am?"    Peter  replied,  "The  Christ  of  God." 

21  Then    he    forbade    them    st'rictly    to    tell    this    to    anyone. 

22  The  Son  of  man,  he  said,  has  to  endure  great  suffering,  to 
be  rejected  by  the  elders  and  high  priests  and  scribes,  to 
be  killed,  and  on  the  third  day  to  be  raised. 

23  He  said  to  all,  "If  anyone  wishes  to  come  after  me,  let 
him  deny  himself,  take  up  his  cross  day  after  day,  and  so 
follow  me; 

24  for  whoever  wants  to  save  his  life  will  lose  it, 

and  whoever  loses  his  life  for  my  sake,  he  will  save  it. 

25  What  profit  will  it  be  for  a  man  to  gain  the  whole  world 

26  and  lose  or  forfeit  himself?  For  whoever  is  ashamed  of 
me  and  my  words,  of  him  will  the  Son  of  man  be  ashamed 
when  he  comes  in  his  glory  and  in  the  glory  of  the  Father 

27  and  of  the  holy  angels.  I  tell  you  plainly,  there  are  some 
of  those  standing  here  who  will  not  taste  death  till  they  see 
the  Reign  of  God." 

28  It  was  about  eight  days  after  he  said  this,  when  he  took 
Peter,  John,  and  James,  and  went  up  the  hillside  to  pray. 

29  While  he  was  praying  the  appearance  of  his  face  altered  and 

30  his  dress  turned  dazzling  white.    There  were  two  men  con- 


104  S.  LUKE  IX 

31  versing  with  him,  Moses  and  Elijah,  who  appeared  in  a 
vision  of  glory  and  said  he  must  go  through  with  his  death 

32  and  departure  at  Jerusalem.  Now  Peter  and  his  compan- 
ions had  been  overpowered  with  sleep,  but  on  waking  up 
they  saw  his  glory  and  the  two  men  who  were  standing 

33  beside  him.  When  they  were  parting  from  him,  Peter  said 
to  Jesus,  "Master,  it  is  a  good  thing  we  are  here;  let  us 
put  up  three  tents,  one  for  you,  one  for  Moses,  and  one  for 

34  Elijah"  (not  knowing  what  he  was  saying).  As  he  spoke, 
a  cloud   came  and   overshadowed  them.     They   were  awe- 

35  struck  as  they  passed  into  the  cloud,  but  a  voice  came  from 
the  cloud,  "This  is  my  Son,  my  Chosen  one;  listen  to  him." 

36  When  the  voice  ceased,  they  found  themselves  alone  with 
Jesus.  And  in  those  days  they  kept  silence  and  told  nobody 
anything  of  what  they  had  seen. 

37  Next  day,  when  they  came  down  the  hill,  a  large  crowd 

38  met  him.    "Teacher,"  shouted  a  man  from  the  crowd,  "look 

39  at  my  son,  I  beg  of  you,  for  he  is  my  only  boy,  and  a 
spirit  gets  hold  of  him  till  he  suddenly  shrieks;  it  con- 
vulses him  till  he  foams;    indeed  it  will  hardly  leave  off 

40  tearing  him  to  pieces.     I  begged  your  disciples  to  cast  it 

41  out,  but  they  could  not."  Jesus  answered,  "0  faithless  and 
perverse  generation,  how  long  must  I  still  be  with  you  and 

42  bear  with  you?  Fetch  your  son  here."  Before  the  boy  could 
reach  Jesus,  the  daemon  dashed  him  down  and  convulsed 
him,  but  Jesus  checked  the  unclean  spirit,  cured  the  boy, 

43  and  handed  him  back  to  his  father.  And  all  were  astounded 
at  this  grand  display  of  God.     But  while  all  marvelled  at 

44  all  he  did,  he  said  to  his  disciples,  "Let  these  words  sink 
into  your  ears:  'the  Son  of  man  is  to  be  betrayed  into  the 

45  hands  of  men.'  "  But  they  did  not  understand  this  saying — 
indeed  it  was  kept  a  secret  from  them,  to  prevent  them  from 
fathoming  it — and  they  were  afraid  to  ask  him  about  this 
saying. 

46  A  dispute  arose  among  them  as  to  which  of  them  was 

47  the  greatest.  Jesus  knew  the  dispute  that  occupied  their 
minds,  so  he  took  hold  of  a  little  child  and  set  it  by  his 

48  side;  then  he  said  to  them, 

"Whoever  receives  this  little  child  in  my  name  receives  me, 
and  whoever  receives  me  receives  him  who  sent  me. 
For  it  is  the  lowliest  of  you  all  who  is  great." 

49  John  said  to  him,  "Master,  we  saw  a  man  casting  out 
daemons  in  your  name,  but  we  stopped  him  because  he  is 

50  not  a  follower  of  ours."  Jesus  said  to  him,  "Do  not  stop 
him;*  he  who  is  not  against  you  is  for  you." 

51  As  the  time  for  his  assumption  was  now  due,  he  set  his 

*  Omitting  [oii  ydp  ianv  Ka6'  vfxCjv], 


S.  LUKE  X  105 

52  face  for  the  journey  to  Jerusalem.  He  sent  messengers 
in  front  of  him.     They  went  and  entered  a  Samaritan  vil- 

53  lage  to  make  preparations  for  him,  but  the  people  would  not 
receive  him  because  his  face  was  turned  in  the  direction  of 

54  Jerusalem.  So  when  the  disciples  James  and  John  saw 
this,  they  said,  "Lord,  will  you  have  us  bid  fire  come  down 

55  from    heaven   and   consume   themt"'     But    he    turned    and 

56  checked   them.     Then   they  journeyed   to   another   village. 

57  And  as  they  journeyed  along  the  road  a  man  said  to  him, 

58  "I  will  follow  you  anywhere."     Jesus  said  to  him, 

"The  foxes  have  their  holes, 

the  wild  birds  have  their  nests, 

but  the  Son  of  man  has  nowhere  to  lay  his  head." 

59  He  said  to  another  man,  "Follow  me";  but  he  said,  "Let  me 

60  go  and  bury  my  father  first  of  all."  Jesus  said  to  him, 
"Leave  the  dead  to  bury  their  own  dead;  you  go  and  spread 

61  the  news  of  the  Reign  of  God."  Another  man  also  said  to 
him,  "I  will  follow  you.  Lord.    But  let  me  first  say  good-bye 

62  to  my  people  at  home."  Jesus  said  to  him,  "No  one  is  any 
use  to  the  Reign  of  God  who  puts  his  hand  to  the  plough 
and  then  looks  behind  him." 

1  f\  After  that  the  Lord  commissioned  other  seventy  dis- 
■l  v/  ciples,  sending  them  in  front  of  him  two  by  two  to 
every  town  and  place  that   he   intended  to  visit  himself. 

2  He  said  to  them,  "The  harvest  is  rich,  but  the  labourers  are 
few;  so  pray  the  Lord  of  the  harvest  to  send  labourers  to 

3  gather  his  harvest.     Go  your  way;   I  am  sending  you  out 

4  like  lambs  among  wolves.     Carry  no  purse,  no  wallet,  no 

5  sandals.    Do  not  stop  to  salute  anybody  on  the  road.    What- 
ever house  you  enter,  first  say,  'Peace  be  to  this  household!' 

6  Then,  if  there  is  a  soul  there  breathing  peace,  your  peace 
will   rest   on   him;    otherwise   it   will   come   back   to    you. 

7  Stay  at  the  same  house,  eating  and  drinking  what  the  peo- 
ple provide    (for  the  workman  deserves  his  wages) ;    you 

8  are  not  to  shift  from  one  house  to  another.     Wherever  you 
are  received  on  entering  any  town,  eat  what  is  provided  for 

9  you,  heal  those  in  the  town  who  are  ill,  and  tell  them,  'The 

10  Reign  of  God  is  nearly  on  you.'  But  wherever  you  are  not 
received  on  entering  any  town,  go  out  into  the  streets  of 

11  the  town  and  cry,  'The  very  dust  of  your  town  that  clings  to 
us  we  wipe  off  from  our  feet  as  a  protest.     But  mark  this, 

12  the  Reign  of  God  is  near!'  I  tell  you,  on  the  great  Day  it 
will    be    more    bearable    for    Sodom    than    for    that    town. 

13  Woe  to  y6u,  Khorazin!  woe  to  you,  Bethsaida!  Had  the 
miracles  performed  in  you  been  performed  in  Tyre  and 
Sidon,  they  would  long  ago  have  been  sitting  penitent  in 

14  sackcloth   and   ashes.     But   it  will  be   more  bearable   for 


106  S.  LUKE  X 

15  Tyre  and  Sidon  at  the  judgment  than  for  you.  And  you, 
O  Capharnahum!  Exalted  to  heaven f  No,  you  will  sink 
to  Hades! 

16  He  who  listens  to  you  listens  to  me, 

he  who  rejects  you  rejects  me, 

and  he  who  rejects  me  rejects  him  who  sent  me." 

17  The  seventy  came  back  with  joy.    "Lord,"  they  said,  "the 

18  very  daemons  obey  us  in  your  name."  He  said  to  them, 
"Yes,   I   watched    Satan   fall   from   heaven   like   a   flash   ol 

19  lightning.  I  have  indeed  given  you  the  power  of  treading 
on  serpents  and  scorpions  and  of  trampling  down  all  the 

20  power  of  the  Enemy;  nothing  shall  injure  you.    Only, 

do  not  rejoice  because  the  spirits  obey  you: 
rejoice  because  your  names  are  enrolled  in  heaven." 

21  He  thrilled  with  joy  at  that  hour  in  the  holy  Spirit,  say- 
ing, "I  praise  thee.  Father,  Lord  of  heaven  and  earth,  for 
concealing  this  from  the  wise  and  learned  and  revealing 
it  to  the  simple-minded;  yes,  Father,  I  praise  thee  thai 
such  was  thy  chosen  purpose."  Then  turning  to  the  dis 
ciples  he  said, 

22  "All  has  been  handed  over  to  me  by  my  Father: 

and  no  one  knows  who  the  Son  is  except  the  Father, 
or  who  the  Father  is  except  the  Son, 
and  he  to  whom  the  Son  chooses  to  reveal  him." 
Then  turning  to  the  disciples  he  said  privately, 

23  "Blessed  are  the  eyes  that  see  what  you  see! 

24  For  I  tell  you  many  prophets  and  kings  have  desired  to 

see  what  you  see, 
but  they  have  not  seen  it; 
and  to  hear  what  you  hear, 
but  they  have  not  heard  it." 

25  Now  a  jurist  got  up  to  tempt  him.    "Teacher,"  he  said, 

26  "what  am  I  to  do  to  inherit  life  eternal?"  He  said  to  him, 
"What  is  written  in  the  law?     What  do  you  read  there?" 

27  He  replied,  ''You  must  love  the  Lord  your  God  with  you- 
whole  heart,  with  your  whole  soul,  with  your  whoh 
strength,  and  with  your  whole  mind.    Also  your  neighbou' 

28  as  yourself."     "A  right  answer!"  said  Jesus;   "do  that  and 

29  you  will  live.''  Anxious  to  make  an  excuse  for  himself, 
however,  he  said  to  Jesus,  "But  who  is   my  neighbour?" 

30  Jesus  rejoined,  "A  man  going  down  from  Jerusalem  to 
Jericho  fell  among  robbers  who  stripped   and  belaboure{i 

31  him  and  then  went  off  leaving  him  half-dead.  Nov 
it  so  chanced  that  a  priest  was  going  down  the  samr 
road,  but  on  seeing  him  he  went  past  on  the  opposite  side 

32  So  did  a  Levite  who  came  to  the  spot;   he  looked  at  hini 

33  but  passed  on  the  opposite  side.  However  a  Samaritan 
traveller  came  to  where  he  was  and  felt  pity  when  he  saw 


S.  LUKE  XI  107 

34  him;  he  went  to  him,  bound  his  wounds  up,  pouring  oil 
and  wine  into  them,  mounted  him  on  his  own  steed,  took 

35  him  to  an  inn,  and  attended  to  him.  Next  morning  he  took 
out  a  couple  of  shillings  and  gave  them  to  the  innkeeper, 
saying,  'Attend  to  him,  and  if  you  are  put  to  any  extra 

36  expense  I  will  refund  you  on  my  way  back.'  Which  of  these 
three  men,  in  your  opinion,  proved  a  neighbour  to  the  man 

37  who  fell  among  the  robbers?"  He  said,  "The  man  who  took 
pity  on  him."  Jesus  said  to  him,  "Then  go  and  do  the 
same." 

38  In  the  course  of  their  journey  he  entered  a  certain  village, 
and  a  woman  called  Martha  welcomed  him  to  her  house. 

39  She  had  a  sister  called  Mary,  who  seated  herself  at  the  feet 

40  of  the  Lord  to  listen  to  his  talk.  Now  Martha  was  so  busy 
attending  to  them  that  she  grew  worried;  she  came  up  and 
said,  "Lord,  is  it  all  one  to  you  that  my  sister  has  left  me 
to  do  all  the  work  alone?    Come,  tell  her  to  lend  me  a  hand." 

41  The  Lord  answered  her,  "Martha,  Martha,*  Mary  has  chosen 
the  best  dish,  and  she  is  not  to  be  dragged  away  from  it." 

11   He   was    praying   at    a   certain    place,    and    when    he 
■l  stopped  one  of  his  disciples  said  to  him,  "Lord,  teach 

2  us  to  pray,  as  John  taught  his  disciples."    He  said  to  them, 

"When  you  pray,  say,  Father, 
thy  name  be  revered, 
thy  Reign  begin; 

3  give  us  our  bread  for  the  morrow  day  by  day, 

4  and  forgive  us  our  sins 

for  we  do  forgive  everyone  who  has  offended  us; 
and  lead  us  not  into  temptation." 

5  And  he  said  to  them,  "Suppose  one  of  you  has  a  friend,  and 
you  go  to  him  at  midnight  and  say  to  him,  'Friend,  let  me 

6  have  three  loaves;  for  a  friend  of  mine  travelling  has  come 

7  to  my  house  and  I  have  nothing  to  set  before  him.'  And 
suppose  he  answers  from  the  inside,  'Don't  bother  me;  the 
door  is  locked  by  this  time,  and  my  children  are  in  bed 

8  with  me.  I  can't  get  up  and  give  you  anything.'  I  tell  you, 
though  he  will  not  get  up  and  give  you  anything  because 
you  are  a  friend  of  his,  he  will  at  least  rise  and  give  you 

9  whatever  you  want,  because  you  persist.     So  I  tell  you, 

ask  and  the  gift  will  be  yours, 
seek  and  you  will  find, 

knock  and  the  door  will  open  to  you; 

*  Omitting,  with  D,  Syr.Sin.  and  the  majority  of  the  old  Latin  man- 
uscripts fxepifMvg.s  .  .  .  XP^'a  (D  adding  dopv^d^ri).  I  translate  fJ^eplda 
by  '  dish,'  to  bring  out  the  point  and  play  of  the  saying.  Jesus  means 
that  Mary  has  chosen  weU  in  selecting  the  nourishment  of  his  teaching. 


108  S.  LUKE  XI 

10  for  everyone  who  asks  receives,  ', 

the  seeker  finds,  \ 

the  door  is  opened  to  anyone  who  knocks. 

11  What  father  among  you,  if  asked  by  his  son  for  a  loaf, 

will  hand  him  a  stone? 
Or,  if  asked  for  a  fish,  will  hand  him  a  serpent  instead 
of  a  fish? 

12  Or,     if    asked     for    an    egg,     will     he    hand    him    a 

scorpion? 

13  Well,  if  for  all  your  evil  you  know  to  give  your  children 

what  is  good, 
how  much  more  will  your  Father  give  the  holy  Spifit 
from  heaven  to  those  who  ask  him?" 

14  He  was  casting  out  a  dumb  daemon,  and  when  the  daemon 
had  gone  out  the  dumb  man  spoke.    The  crowds  marvelh-d, 

15  but  some  of  them  said,  "It  is  by  Beelzebul  the  prince  of 

16  daemons  that  he  casts  out  daemons."  Others  by  way  of 
tempting  him  demanded  he  should  give  them  a  Sign  from 

17  heaven.  He  knew  what  they  were  thinking  about,  so  he 
said  to  them, 

"Any  realm  divided  against  itself  comes  to  ruin, 
house  after  house  falls  down; 

18  and  if  Satan  is  divided  against  himself, 

how  can  his  realm  stand? 
You  say  I  am  casting  out  daemons  by  Beelzebul? 

19  If  I  cast  out  daemons  by  Beelzebul, 

by  whom  do  your  sons  cast  them  out? 
Thus  they  will  be  your  judges. 

20  But  if  it  is  by  the  finger  of  God  that  I  cast  daemons  out, 

then  the  Reign  of  God  has  reached  you  already. 

21  When  the  strong  man  in  armour  guards  his  homestead,  his 

22  property  is  undisturbed;  but  when  a  stronger  man  attacks 
and  conquers  him,  he  seizes  the  panoply  on  which  he  relied 
and  divides  up  the  spoil. 

23  He  who  is  not  with  me  is  against  me, 

and  he  who  does  not  gather  with  me  scatters.* 

24  When  an  unclean  spirit  leaves  a  man,  it  roams  through  dry 
places  in  search  of  refreshment.     As  it  finds  none,  then  it 

25  says,  'I  will  go  back  to  the  house  I  left,'  and  when  it  comes 

26  it  finds  the  house  clean  and  in  order.  Then  it  goes  off  to 
fetch  seven  other  spirits  worse  than  itself;  they  go  in  and 
dwell  there,  and  the  last  state  of  that  man  is  worse  than 
the  first." 

27  While  he  was  saying  this,  a  woman  shouted  to  him  out 
of  the  crowd,  "Blessed  is  the  womb  that  bore  you,  and    he 

*  Omitting  M^^  which  von  Soden  inserts  within  brackets  from  ^L  33 
and  a  few  other  authorities. 


S.  LUKE  XI  109 

28  breasts  you  sucked!"  But  he  said,  "Blessed  rather  are  those 
who  hear  and  who  observe  the  word  of  God!" 

29  As  the  crowds  were  thronging  to  him,  he  proceeded  to 
say, 

"This  is  an  evil  generation:  it  demands  a  Sign, 

but  no  Sign  will  be  given  to  it  except  the  Sign  of 
Jonah; 

30  for  as  Jonah  was  a  Sign  to  the  Ninivites, 

so  shall  the  Son  of  man  be  to  this  generation, 

31  The  queen  of  the  South  will  rise  at  the  judgment  with 

the  men  of  this  generation  and  condemn  them; 
for  she  came  from  the  ends  of  the  earth  to  listen  to 

the  wisdom  of  Solomon, 
and  here  is  One  greater  than  Solomon. 

32  The  men  of  Ninive  will  rise  at  the  judgment  with  this 

generation  and  condemn  it; 
for  when  Jonah  preached  they  did  repent, 
and  here  is  One  greater  than  Jonah. 

33  No  one  lights  a  lamp  to  put  it  in  a  cellar  or  under 

a  bowl, 
but  on  a  stand,  so  that  those  who  come  in  can  see 
the  light. 
Your  eye  is  the  lamp  of  the  body: 
when  your  eye  is  sound, 

then  the  whole  of  your  body  has  light, 
but  if  your  eye  is  diseased, 
then  your  body  is  darkened. 

35  (Look!  perhaps  your  very  light  is  dark.) 

36  So  if  your  whole  body  has  light,  without  any  corner  of  it 
in  darkness,  it  will  be  lit  up  entirely,  as  when  a  lamp 
lights  you  with  its  rays." 

37  When  he  finished  speaking,  a  Pharisee  asked  him  to  take 
a  meal  in  his  house;  so  he  went  in  and  lay  down  at  table. 

38  The    Pharisee    was.  astonished    to    see    that    he    had    not 

39  washed  before  the  meal,  but  the  Lord  said  to  him, 

"You  Pharisees  do  clean  the  outside  of  the  cup  and  the 
plate, 
but  your  inner  life  is  filled  with  rapacity  and  malice. 

40  Foolish  men!    did  not  He  who  made  the  outside  make 

the  inside  of  things  too? 

41  Better  cleanse*   what  is  within;    then  nothing  will  be 

unclean  for  you. 

*  The  ordinary  text  dSre  eXerjfxoa-vvrjv  ("  give  alms  ")  represents  the 
Aramaic  zakki.  But  the  Aramaic  dakki  ("  purify  "  or  "  cleanse")  suits 
the  context  better,  and  Wellhausen  plausibly  suggests  that  Luke  has 
confused  "  these  two  verbs  which  differ  very  Httle  in  sound  and  orig- 
inally are  identical." 


110  S.  LUKE  XII 

42  But  woe  to  you  Pharisees! 

you  tithe  mint  and  rue  and  every  vegetable, 
but  justice  and  the  love  of  God  you  disregard; 
these    latter    you    ought    to    have    practised — ^without 
omitting  the  former. 

43  Woe  to  you  Pharisees! 

you  love  the  front  bench  in  the  synagogues 
and  salutations  in  the  marketplaces. 

44  Woe  to  you! 

you  are  like  unsuspected  tombs; 
men  walk  over  them  unawares." 

45  One  of  the  jurists  said  to  him,  "Teacher,  when  you  say 

46  this  you  are  insulting  us  as  well."    He  said, 

"And  woe  to  you  jurists!    you  load  men  with  irksome 
burdens, 
and  you  will  not  put  a  single  finger  to  their  burdens. 

47  Woe  to  you!  you  build  tombs  for  the  prophets  whom 

your  own  fathers  killed: 

48  thus  you  testify  and  consent  to  what  your  fathers 

did, 
for  they  killed  and  you  build. 

49  This  is  why  the  Wisdom  of  God  said,  'I  will  send  them 
prophets  and  apostles,  some  they  will  kill  and  some  they 

50  will  persecute';  it  was  that  the  blood  of  all  the  prophets 
shed  from  the  foundation  of  the  world  might  be  charged 

51  upon  this  generation,  from  the  blood  of  Abel  down  to  the 
blood  of  Zechariah  who  was  slain  between  the  altar  and 
the  House  of  God — yes,  I  tell  you,  it  will  all  be  charged 
upon  this  generation. 

52  Woe  to  you  jurists!    you  have  taken  the  key  that  un- 

locks the  door  of  knowledge; 
you  have  not  entered  yourselves, 
and  you  have  stopped  those  who  were  entering." 

53  After  he  had  gone  away,  the  scribes  and  Pharisees  com- 
menced to  follow  him  up  closely  and  cross-question  him 

54  on  many  points,  lying  in  ambush  to  catch  a  word  from  his 
lips. 

1  Q  Meanwhile  as  the  crowd  was  gathering  in  its  thou- 
I  ^  sands  till  they  trod  on  one  another,  he  proceeded  to 
say  to  his  disciples  first  of  all,  "Be  on  your  guard  against 
the  leaven  of  the  Pharisees,  which  is  hypocrisy. 

2  Nothing  is  hidden  that  shall  not  be  revealed, 

or  concealed  that  shall  not  be  made  known. 

3  So  all  you  utter  in  the  dark  will  be  heard  in  the  light, 

and  what  you  whisper  in  chambers  will  be  proclaimed 
on  the  housetops. 

4  I  tell  you,  my  friends. 


S.  LUKE  XII  111 

have  no  fear  of  those  who  kill  the  body  but  after  that 
can  do  no  more; 

5  I  will  show  you  whom  to  fear — 

fear  Him  who  after  he  has  killed  has  power  to  cast  you 
into  Gehenna. 
Yes,  I  tell  you,  fear  Him. 

6  Are  not  five  sparrows  sold  for  two  farthings? 

Yet  not  one  of  them  is  forgotten  by  God. 

7  But  the  very  hairs  on  your  head  are  all  numbered; 

fear  not,  you  are  worth  far  more  *  than  sparrows. 

8  I  tell  you,  whoever  acknowledges  me  before  men, 

the  Son  of  man  will  acknowledge  him  before  the  angels 
of  God; 

9  and  he  who  disowns  me  before  men 

will  be  disowned  before  the  angels  of  God. 

10  Everyone  also  who  says  a  word  against  the  Son  of  man 

will  be  forgiven  for  it, 
but  he  who  blasphemes  against  the  holy  Spirit  will 
never  be  forgiven. 

11  When  they  bring  you  before  synagogues  and  the  magis- 
trates and  authorities,  do  not  trouble  yourselves  about  how 

12  to  defend  yourselves  or  what  to  say,  for  the  holy  Spirit 
will  teach  you  at  that  hour  what  you  should  say." 

13  A  man  out  of  the  crowd  said  to  him,  "Teacher,  tell  my 

14  brother  to  give  me  my  share  of  our  inheritance";  but  he 
said  to  him,  "Man,  who  made  me  a  judge  or  arbitrator  over 

15  your  affairs?"  Then  he  said  to  them,  "See  and  keep  clear 
of  covetousness  in  every  shape  and  form,  for  a  man's  life 
is  not  part  of  his  possessions  because  he  has  ample  wealth." 

16  And  he  told  them  a  parable.     "A  rich  man's  estate  bore 

17  heavy  crops.     So  he  debated,  'What  am  I  to  do?     I  have 

18  no  room  to  store  my  crops.'  And  he  said,  'This  is  what 
I  will  do.    I  will  pull  down  my  granaries  and  build  larger 

19  ones,  where  I  can  store  all  my  produce  and  my  goods.  And 
I  will  say  to  my  soul,  "Soul,  you  have  ample  stores  laid  up 
for  many  a  year;  take  your  ease,  eat,  drink  and  be  merry."  ' 

20  But  God  said  to  him,  'Foolish  man,  this  very  night  your 
soul  is  wanted;   and  who  will  get  all  you  have  prepared?' 

21  So  fares  the  man  who  lays  up  treasure  for  himself  instead 

22  of  gaining  the  riches  of  God."  To  his  disciples  he  said, 
"Therefore  I  tell  you, 

do  not  trouble  about  what  you  are  to  eat  in  life, 
nor  about  what  you  are  to  put  on  your  body; 

23  life  is  something  more  than  food, 

and  the  body  is  something  more  than  clothes. 

24  Look  at  the  crows!  they  neither  sow  nor  reap, 

*  See  above,  on  p.  16. 


112  S.  LUKE  XII 

no  storehouse  or  granary  have  they, 
and  yet  God  feeds  them. 
How  much  more  are  you  worth  than  birds? 

25  Which  of  you  can  add  an  ell  to  his  height  by  troubling 

about  it? 

26  and  if  you  cannot  manage  even  this,  why  trouble  over 

other  things? 

27  Look  how  the  lilies  neither  spin  nor  weave; 

and  yet,  I  tell  you,  even  Solomon  in  all  his  grandeur 
was  never  robed  like  one  of  them. 

28  Now  if  God  so  clothes  grass  which  blooms  to-day  in  the 
field  and  is  thrown  to-morrow  into  the  furnace,  will  he  not 
much  more  clothe  you?    O  men,  how  little  you  trust  him! 

3Q  So  do  not  seek  food  and  drink  and  be  worried;  pagans 
make  food  and  drink  their  aim  in  life,  but  your  Father 

31  knows  quite  well  you  need  that;  only  seek  his  Realm,  and 

32  it  will  be  yours  over  and  above.  Fear  not,  you  little 
flock,  for  your  Father  is  delighted  to  give  you  the  Realm. 

33  Sell  what  you  possess  and  give  it  away  in  alms, 

make  purses  for  yourselves  that  never  wear  out: 
get  treasure  in  heaven  that  never  fails, 
that  no  thief  can  get  at,  no  moth  destroy. 

34  For  where  your  treasure  lies, 

your  heart  will  lie  there  too. 
f5   Keep  your  loins  girt  and  your  lamps  lit,  and  be  like  men 
who  are  expecting  their  lord  and  master  on  his   return 
from  a  marriage-banquet,  so  as  to  open  the  door  for  him 

37  at  once  when  he  comes  and  knocks.  Blessed  are  those 
servants  whom  the  lord  and  master  finds  awake  when  he 
comes!  I  tell  you  truly,  he  will  gird  himself,  make  them 
recline    at    table,    and    come    forward    to    wait    on    them. 

38  Whether  he  comes  in  the  second  or  the  third  watch  of  the 

39  night  and  finds  them  thus  alert,  blessed  are  they!  Be  sure 
that  if  the  householder  had  known  at  what  hour  the  thief 
was  coming,*  he  would  not  have  allowed  his  house  to  be 

40  broken  into.     So  be  ready  yourselves,  for  the  Son  of  man 

41  is  coming  at  an  hour  you  do  not  expect."  Peter  said, 
"Lord,  are  you  telling  this  parable  for  us,  or  is  it  for  all 

42  and  sundry?"  The  Lord  said,  "Well,  where  is  the  trusty, 
thoughtful  steward  whom  the  lord  and  master  will  set 
over  his  establishment  to  give  out  supplies  at  the  proper 

43  time?    Blessed  is  that  servant  if  his  lord  and  master  finds 

44  him  so  doing  when  he  arrives!     I  tell  you  plainly,  he  will 

45  set  him  over  all  his  property.  But  if  that  servant  says  to 
himself,  'My  lord  and  master  is  long  of  arriving,'  and  if 

*  Omitting  [iyprjydprjaep  &v,  kuI],  a  harmonistic  gloss  from  Matthew 
xxiv.  43. 


S.  LUKE  XII  113 

he  starts  to  beat  the  menservants  and  maidservants,  to  eat 

46  and  drink  and  get  drunk,  that  servant's  lord  and  master 
will  arrive  on  a  day  when  he  does  not  expect  him  and 
at  an  hour  which  he  does  not  know;  he  will  cut  him  in 
two  and  assign  him  the  fate  of  unbelievers. 

47  The  servant  who  knew  his  lord  and  master's  orders  and 

did  not  prepare  *  for  them, 
will  receive  many  lashes; 

48  whereas  he  who  was  ignorant  and  did  what  deserves  a 

beating, 

will  receive  few  lashes. 
He  who  has  much  given  him 

will  have  much  required  from  him, 
and  he  who  has  much  entrusted  to  him 

will  have  all  the  more  demanded  of  him. 

49  I  have  come  to  throw  fire  on  earth. 

Would  it  were  kindled  already! 

50  I  have  a  baptism  to  undergo. 

How  I  am  distressed  till  it  is  all  over! 

51  You  think  I  am  here  to  make  peace  on  earth? 

No,  I  tell  you,  it  is  dissension. 

52  After  this  there  will  be  five  at  issue  in  one  house, 

three  divided  against  two  and  two  against  three, 

53  father  against  son  and  son  against  father, 

mother  against  daughter  and  daughter  against  mother, 
mother-in-law   against   daughter-in-law  and  daughter-inr 
law  against  mother-in-law." 

54  And  to  the  crowds  he  said, 

"When  you  see  a  cloud  rise  in  the  west, 
you  say,  'There  is  a  shower  coming,* 
and  so  it  is: 

55  when  you  feel  the  south  wind  blow, 

you  say,  'There  will  be  heat,' 
and  so  it  is. 

56  You  hypocrites,  you  know  how  to  decipher  the  look  of 

earth  and  sky; 
how  is  it  you  cannot  decipher  the  meaning  of  this  era? 

57  And  why   do  you  not  yourselves  settle   what  is  right? 

58  Thus,  when  you  go  before  the  magistrate  with  your  oppo- 
nent, do  your  utmost  to  get  quit  of  him  on  the  way  there, 
in  case  he  hales  you  before  the  judge;  then  the  judge  will 
hand  you  over  to  the  jailer  and  the  jailer  will  throw  you 

59  in  prison.  I  tell  you,  you  will  never  get  out  till  you  pay 
the  last  farthing  of  your  debt." 

*  Omitting  ^  Tronqaas  with  L,  the  majority  of  the  old  Latin  manu- 
scripts, the  Syriac  and  Armenian  versions,  etc.  The  ordinary  text 
is  complete. 


114  S.  LUKE  XIII 

1  Q  It  was  at  this  time  that  some  people  came  to  tell 
1 0  him    about    the    Galileans    whose    blood    Pilate    had 

2  mingled  with  their  sacrifices.     But  he  replied  to  them, 

"Do  you  think,  because  they  suffered  this,  that  these  Gali- 
leans were  worse  sinners  than  the  rest  of  the  Gali- 
leans? 

3  I  tell  you,  no; 

unless  you  repent  you  will  all  perish  as  they  did. 

4  Or  those  eighteen  men  killed  by  the  fall  of  the  tower  at 

Siloam?— 
do  you  think  they  were  worse  offenders  than  the  rest 
of  the  residents  in  Jerusalem? 

5  I  tell  you,  no; 

unless  you  repent  you  will  all  perish  as  they  did." 

6  And  he  told  this  parable.  "A  man  had  a  fig  tree  planted 
in  his  vineyard;  he  came  in  search  of  fruit  on  it  but  he 

7  found  none.  So  he  said  to  the  vinedresser,  'Here  have  I 
come  for  three  years  in  search  of  fruit  on  this  fig  tree 
without  finding  any;   cut  it  down,  why  should  it  take  up 

8  space?'     But  the  man  replied,  'Leave  it  for  this  year,  sir, 

9  till  I  dig  round  about  it  and  put  in  manure.  Then  it  may 
bear  fruit  next  year.    If  not,  you  can  have  it  cut  down.'  " 

10  "When  he  was  teaching  in  one  of  the  synagogues  on  the 

11  sabbath,  there  was  a  woman  who  for  eighteen  years  had 
suffered  weakness  from  an  evil  spirit;  indeed  she  was  bent 

12  double  and  quite  unable  to  raise  herself.  Jesus  noticed  her 
and  called  to  her,   "Woman,  you  are  released  from  your 

13  weakness."     He  laid  his  hands  on  her,  and  instantly  she 

14  became  erect  and  glorified  God.  But  the  president  of  the 
synagogue  was  annoyed  at  Jesus  healing  on  the  sabbath, 
and  he  said  to  the  crowd,  "There  are  six  days  for  work  to 
be  done;   come  during  them  to  get  healed,  instead  of  on 

15  the  sabbath."  The  Lord  replied  to  him,  "You  hypocrites, 
does  not  each  of  you  untether  his  ox  or  ass  from  the  stall 

16  on  the  sabbath  and  lead  it  away  to  drink?  And  this 
woman,  a  daughter  of  Abraham,  bound  by  Satan  for  all 
these  eighteen  years,  was  she  not  to  be  freed  from  her 

17  bondage  on  the  sabbath?"  As  he  said  this,  all  his  opponents 
were  put  to  shame,  but  all  the  crowd  rejoiced  over  all  his 

18  splendid  doings.     So  he  said, 

"What  is  the  Reign  of  God  like? 
to  what  shall  I  compare  it? 

19  It  is  like  a  grain  of  mustard-seed  which  a  man  took  and 
put  into  his  orchard,  where  it  grew  up  and  became  a  tree, 

20  and  the  wild  birds  roosted  in  its  hranches."    He  added,  "To 

21  what  shall  I  compare  the  Reign  of  God?  It  is  like  dough 
which  a  woman  took  and  buried  in  three  pecks  of  flour,  till 
all  of  it  was  leavened." 


S.  LUKE  XIV  115 

22  On  he  went,  teaching  from  one  town  and  village  to  an- 

23  other,  as  he  made  his  way  to  Jerusalem.  A  man  said  to 
him,  "Is  it  onlj'^  a  few,  sir,  who  are  saved?"     So  he  said 

24  to  them,  "Strive  to  get  in  through  the  narrow  door,  for  I  tell 

25  you  many  will  try  to  get  in  and,  not  be  able,  once  the 
master  of  the  House  has  got  up  and  closed  the  door.  You 
may  stand  outside  and  knock  at  the  door,  crying,  'Lord, 
open  for  us,'  but  he  will  answer  you,  'I  do  not  know  where 

26  you  come  from.'  You  will  then  proceed  to  say,  'But  we  ate 
and  drank  in  your  presence,  and  you  taught  in  our  streets!* 

27  'I  tell  you,'  he  will  say,  'I  do  not  know  where  you  come 

28  from;  begone  every  one  of  you,  you  evildoers.'  There  you 
will  wail  and  gnash  your  teeth,  to  see  Abraham,  Isaac, 
Jacob  and  all  the  prophets  inside  the  Realm  of  God  and 

29  yourselves  thrown  out.  Yes,  and  people  will  come  from 
east  and  west  and  north  and  south  to  their  places  at  the 
feast  within  the  Realm  of  God. 

30  Some  are  last  who  will  be  first, 
and  some  are  first  who  will  be  last." 

31  Just   then   some   Pharisees   came   up   to   tell   him,   "Get 

32  away  from  here,  for  Herod  intends  to  kill  you."  "Go  and 
tell  that  fox,"  he  replied,  "I  cast  out  daemons  and  perform 
cures  to-day  and  to-morrow,  and  on  the  third  day  I  com- 

33  plete  my  task!  But  I  must  journey  on,  to-day,  to-morrow, 
and  the  next  day;  it  would  never  do  for  a  prophet  to  perish 

34  except  in  Jerusalem!  O  Jerusalem,  Jerusalem,  slaying  the 
prophets  and  stoning  those  who  have  been  sent  to  you! 
How  often  I  would  fain  have  gathered  your  children  as  a 
fowl  gathers  her  brood  under  her  wings!     But  you  would 

35  not  have  it!  See,  your  House  is  left  to  yourselves.  1 
tell  you,  you  will  never  see  me  till  the  day  comes  when 
you  say.  Blessed  be  he  ivJio  comes  in  the  Lord's  name.'' 

UNow    when   he    entered    the    house    of    a    ruler    who 
belonged    to    the    Pharisees    to    take    a    meal,    they 

2  watched  him  closely.    In  front  of  him  there  was  a  man  who 

3  had  dropsy;  so  Jesus  asked  the  jurists  and  Pharisees,  "Is 

4  it  right  to  heal  on  the  sabbath  or  not?"  They  held  their 
peace.     Then  Jesus  took  hold  of  the  man  and  cured  him 

5  and  sent  him  off.  "Which  of  you,"  he  said  to  them,  "when 
an  ass  or  an  ox  has  fallen  into  a  well,  will  not  pull  him 

6  out  at  once  upon  the  sabbath  day?"     This  they  could  not 

7  dispute.     He  also  told  a  parable  to  the  guests,  when  he 

8  observed  how  they  picked  out  the  best  places.  "When  any- 
one invites  you  to  a  marriage-banquet,"  he  said,  "never  lie 
down  in  the  best  place,  in  case  a  more  distinguished  guest 

9  than  yourself  has  been  invited;  then  the  host  will  tell  you, 
'Make  room  for  him,'  and  you  will  proceed  in  shame  to 


116  S.  LUKE  XIV 

10  take  the  lowest  place.  No,  when  you  are  invited,  go  and 
recline  in  the  lowest  place,  so  that  when  your  host  comes 
in  he  will  tell  you,  'Move  higher  up,  my  friend.'  Then  you 
will  be  honoured  before  your  fellow  guests. 

11  For  everyone  who  uplifts  himself  will  be  humbled, 

and  he  who  humbles  himself  will  be  uplifted." 

12  He  also  said  to  his  host,  "When  you  give  a  dinner  or 
supper,  do  not  ask  your  friends  or  your  brothers  or 
your    relatives    or    your    rich    neighbours,    in    case    they 

13  invite  you  back  again  and  you  get  repaid.  No,  when 
you     give     a     banquet,     invite     the     poor,     the     maimed, 

14  the  lame,  and  the  blind.  Then  you  will  be  blessed;  for  as 
they  have  no  means  of  repaying  you,  you  will  be  repaid 

15  at  the  resurrection  of  the  just."  Hearing  this,  one  of  his 
fellow  guests  said  to  him,  "Blessed  is  he  who  feasts  in  the 

16  Realm  of  God!"  Jesus  said  to  him,  "There  was  a  man 
who  was  giving  a  large  supper,  to  which  he  had  invited  a 

17  number  of  guests.  At  the  hour  for  supper  he  sent  his 
servant   to   tell  the  guests,  'Come,   things  are  all   ready.' 

18  But  they  all  alike  proceeded  to  decline.  The  first  said  to 
him,  'I  have  bought  a  farm  and  I  am  obliged  to  go  and  look 

19  at  it.  Pray  consider  me  excused.'  The  second  said,  'I  have 
bought  five  pair  of  oxen  and  I  am  going  to  try  them.   Pray 

20  consider  me   excused.'     Another   said,    'I  have  married   a 

21  wife;  that  is  why  I  cannot  come.'  The  servant  went  and 
reported  this  to  his  master.  Then  the  master  of  the  house 
was  enraged,  and  said  to  his  servant,  'Quick,  go  out  to  the 
streets  and  lanes  of  the  town  and  bring  in  the  poor,  the 

22  maimed,  the  blind,  and  the  lame.'  When  the  servant  an- 
nounced, 'Your  order  has  been  carried  out,  sir,  but  there 

23  is  still  room,'  the  master  said  to  the  servant,  'Go  out  to 
the   roads   and  hedges   and  make  people   come   in,   to  fill 

24  up  my  house.  For  I  tell  you  that  not  one  of  those  who 
were  invited  shall  taste  my  supper.'  " 

25  There  were  large  crowds  travelling  with  him;  so  he 
turned  and  said  to  them, 

26  "If  anyone  comes  to  me  and  does  not  hate  his  father 
and  mother  and  wife  and  children  and  brothers  and  sisters, 
aye  and  his  own  life, 

he  cannot  be  a  disciple  of  mine; 

27  whoever  does  not  carry  his  own  cross  and  come  after  me, 

he  cannot  be  a  disciple  of  mine. 

28  ^or  which  of  you  wants  to  build  a  tower  and  does  not  first 

sit  down  to  calculate  the  expense,  to  see  if  he  has  enough 

29  money  to  complete  it? — in  case,  after  he  has  laid  the 
foundation  and  then  is  unable  to  finish  the  building,  all 

30  the   spectators   start   to   make   fun   of   him,   saying,   'This 

31  fellow  started  to  build  but  he  could  not  finish  it.'    Or  what 


S.  LUKE  XV  117 

king  sets  out  to  fight  against  another  king  without  first 
sitting  down  to  deliberate  whether  with  ten  thousand  men 
he  can  encounter  the  king  who  is  attacking  him  with  twenty 

32  thousand?  If  he  cannot,  when  the  other  is  still  at  a  dis- 
tance he  will  send  an  embassy  to  do  homage  to  him. 

33  So  with  everyone  of  you  who  will  not  part  with  all  his 

goods — 
he  cannot  be  a  disciple  of  mine. 

34  Salt  is  excellent  indeed:  but  if  salt  becomes  insipid,  what 

35  will  restore  its  flavour?  It  is  no  use  for  either  soil  or 
dunghill,  it  is  flung  out.  He  who  has  an  ear  let  him  listen 
to  this." 

1  p^  Now  the  taxgatherers  and  sinners  were  all  approach- 

2    1  O  ing  him  to  listen  to  him,  but  the  Pharisees  and  the 

scribes  complained,  "He  welcomes  sinners  and  eats  along 

I  with  them!"  So  he  told  them  this  parable,  "Which  of 
you  with  a  hundred  sheep,  if  he  loses  one,  does  not  leave 
the  ninety-nine  in  the  desert  and  go  after  the  lost  one  till 

5  he  finds  it?    When  he  finds  it  he  puts  it  on  his  shoulders 

6  with  joy,  and  when  he  gets  home  he  gathers  his  friends  and 
neighbours:  'Rejoice  with  me,'  he  says  to  them,  'for  I  have 

7  found  the  sheep  I  lost.'     So,  I  tell  you,  there  will  be  joy 
.     in   heaven   over  a  single   sinner  who   repents,   more   than 

8  over  ninety-nine  good  people  who  do  not  need  to  repent.  Or 
again,  suppose  a  woman  has  ten  shillings.  If  she  loses  one 
of  them,  does  she  not  light  a  lamp  and  scour  the  house 

9  and  search  carefully  till  she  finds  it?  And  when  she  finds 
it  she  gathers  her  women-friends  and  neighbours,  saying, 

10  'Rejoice  with  me,  for  I  have  found  the  shilling  I  lost.'  So/ 
I  tell  you,  there  is  joy  in  the  presence  of  the  angels  of  God 
over  a  single  sinner  who  repents." 

II  He   also   said:    "There   was  a  man  who  had  two   sons, 

12  and  the  younger  said  to  his  father,  'Father,  give  me  the 
share  of  the  property  that  falls  to  me.'     So  he  divided  his 

13  means  among  them.  Not  many  days  later,  the  younger  son 
sold   off   everything   and  went   abroad  to   a   distant  land, 

14  where  he  squandered  his  means  in  loose  living.  After  he 
had  spent  his  all,  a  severe  famine  set  in  throughout  that 

15  land,  and  he  began  to  feel  in  want;  so  he  went  and  attached 
himself  to  a  citizen  of  that  land,  who  sent  him  to  his  fields 

16  to  feed  swine.  And  he  was  fain  to  fill  his  belly  with  the 
pods  the  swine  were  eating;    no  one  gave  him  anything. 

17  But  when  he  came  to  his  senses  he  said,  'How  many  hired 
men  of  my  father  have  more  than  enough  to  eat,  and  here 

18  am  I  perishing  of  hunger!  I  will  be  up  and  off  to  my 
father,   and    I   will   say   to   him,    "Father,    I    have    sinned 

19  against  heaven  and  before  you;  I  don't  deserve  to  be  called 


118  S.  LUKE  XVI 

your  son  any  more;  only  make  me  like  one  of  your  hired 

20  men." '  So  he  got  up  and  went  off  to  his  father.  But 
when  he  was  still  far  away  his  father  saw  him  and  felt 
pity  for  him  and  ran  to  fall  upon  his  neck  and  kiss  him. 

21  The  son  said  to  him,  'Father,  I  have  sinned  against  heaven 
and  before  you;  I  don't  deserve  to  be  called  your  son  any 

22  more.'  But  the  father  said  to  his  servants,  'Quick,  bring 
the  best  robe  and  put  it  on  him,  give  him  a  ring  for  his 

23  hand  and  sandals  for  his  feet,  and  bring  the  fatted  calf, 

24  kill  it,  and  let  us  eat  and  be  merry;  for  my  son  here  was 
dead  and  he  has  come  to  life,  he  was  lost  and  he  is  found.' 

25  So  they  began  to  make  merry.  Now  his  elder  son  was  out 
in  the  field,  and  as  he  came  near  the  house  he  heard  music 

26  and  dancing;  so,  summoning  one  of  the  servants,  he  asked 

27  what  this  meant.  The  servant  told  him,  'Your  brother 
has   arrived,   and  your  father  has  killed  the  fatted  calf 

28  because  he  has  got  him  back  safe  and  sound.'  This  angered 
him,  and  he  would  not  go  in.     His  father  came  out  and 

29  tried  to  appease  him,  but  he  replied,  'Look  at  all  the  years 
I  have  been  serving  you!  I  have  never  neglected  any  of 
your  orders,  and  yet  you  have  never  given  me  so  much 

30  as  a  kid,  to  let  me  make  merry  with  my  friends.  But  as 
soon  as  this  son  of  yours  arrives,  after  having  wasted  your 

31  means  with  harlots,  you  kill  the  fatted  calf  for  him!'  The 
father  said  to  him,  'My  son,  you  and  I  are  always  together, 

32  all  I  have  is  yours.  We  could  not  but  make  merry  and 
rejoice,  for  your  brother  here  was  dead  and  has  come  to 
life  again,  he  was  lost  but  he  has  been  found.' " 

1  /:»  He  also  said  to  the  disciples:  "There  was  a  rich  man 
1 1)  who   had   a   factor,    and   this   factor,   he   found,    was 

2  accused  of  misapplying  his  property.  So  he  summoned 
him  and  said,  'What  is  this  I  hear  about  you?     Hand  in 

3  your  accounts;  you  cannot  be  factor  any  longer.'  The 
factor  said  to  himself,  'What  am  I  to  do  now  that  my 
master  is  taking  the  factorship  away  from  me?    I  am  too 

4  weak  to  dig,  I  am  ashamed  to  beg.  Ah,  I  know  what  I 
will   do,  so  that  people  will  welcome  me  to  tbeir  houses 

5  when  I  am  deposed  from  the  factorship.'  So  he  summoned 
every  single  one  of  his  master's  debtors.     He  asked  the 

6  first,  'How  much  are  you  owing  to  my  master?'  'A  hundred 
barrels  of  oil,'  he  said.     The  factor  told  him,  'Here  is  your 

7  bill;  sit  down  at  once  and  enter  fifty  barrels.'  Then  he 
asked  another,  'And  how  much  do  you  owe?'  'A  hundred 
quarters  of  wheat,'  he  said.     'Here  is  your  bill,'  said  the 

8  factor,  'just  enter  eighty.'  Well,  the  master  praised  the 
dishonest  factor  for  looking  ahead;  for  the  children  of  this 
world  look  further  ahead  in  dealing  with  their  own  genera- 


S.  LUKE  XVI  119 

9  tion  than  the  children  of  Light.  And  I  tell  you,  use  mam- 
mon, dishonest  as  it  is,  to  make  friends  for  yourselves,  so 
that  when  you  die  *  they  may  welcome  you  to  the  eternal 
abodes, 

10  He  who  is  faithful  with  a  trifle  is  also  faithful  with  a 

large  trust, 
and  he  who  is  dishonest  with  a  trifle  is  also  dishonest 
with  a  large  trust. 

11  So  if  you  are  not  faithful  with  dishonest  mammon, 

how  can  you  ever  be  trusted  with  true  Riches? 

12  And  if  you  are  not  faithful  with  what  belongs  to  another, 

how  can  you  ever  be  given  what  is  your  own? 

13  No  servant  can  serve  two  masters: 

either  he  will  hate  the  one  and  love  the  other, 
or  else  he  will  stand  by  the  one  and  despise  the  other — 
you  cannot  serve  both  God  and  Mammon." 

14  Now  the  Pharisees  who  were  fond  of  money  heard  all 

15  this,  and  they  sneered  at  him.  So  he  told  them,  "You  are 
the  people  who  get  men  to  think  you  are  good,  but  God 
knows  what  your  hearts  are!  What  is  lofty  in  the  view  of 
man  is  loathsome  in  the  eyes  of  God. 

16  The  Law  and  the  prophets  lasted  till  John ;  since  then  the 
good  news  of  the  Realm  of  God  is  preached,  and  anyone 

17  presses  in.  Yet  it  is  easier  for  heaven  and  earth  to  pass 
away  than  for  an  iota  of  the  Law  to  lapse., 

18  Anyone    who    divorces    his    wife    and    marries    another 

woman  commits  adultery, 
and  he  who  marries  a  divorced  woman  commits  adultery. 

19  There  was  a  rich  man,  clad  in  purple  and  fine  linen,  who 

20  lived  sumptuously  every  day.     Outside  his  door  lay  a  poor 

21  man  called  Lazarus;  he  was  a  mass  of  ulcers,  and  fain  to 
eat  up  the  crumbs  that  fell  from  the  rich  man's  table.    (The 

22  very  dogs  used  to  come  and  lick  his  ulcers.)  Now  it  hap- 
pened that  the  poor  man  died,  and  he  was  carried  by  the 
angels  to  Abraham's  bosom.   The  rich  man  died  too,  and  was 

23  buried.  And  as  he  was  being  tortured  in  Hades  he  raised 
his  eyes  and  saw  Abraham  far  away  with  Lazarus  in  his 

24  bosom ;  so  he  called  out,  'Father  Abraham,  take  pity  on  me, 
send  Lazarus  to  dip  his  fingertip  in  water  and  cool  my  tongue, 

25  for  I  am  in  anguish  in  these  fiames.'  But  Abraham  said, 
'Remember,  my  son,  you  got  all  the  bliss  when  you  were 
alive,  just  as  Lazarus  got  the  ills  of  life;  he  is  in  comfort 

26  now,  and  you  are  in  anguish.  Besides  all  that,  a  great  gulf 
yawns  between  us  and  you,  to  keep  back  those  who  want 
to  cross  from  us  to  you  and  also  those  who  want  to  pass 

*  Reading  iK\lir7)T€  or  iKXdirrrre  with  X^a^  the  bulk  of  the  Latin  man- 
uscripts, the  Harklean  Syriac,  etc. 


120  S.  LUKE  XVII 

27  from  you  to  us.'     Then  he  said,  'Well,  father,  I  beg  you  to 

28  send  him  to  my  father's  house,  for  I  have  five  brothers;  let 
him  bear  testimony  to  them,  that  they  may  not  come  to 

29  this  place  of  torture  as  well.'    'They  have  got  Moses  and  the 

30  prophets,'  said  Abraham,  'they  can  listen  to  them.'  'No, 
father  Abraham,'  he  said,  'but  if  someone  only  goes  to  them 

31  from  the  dead,  they  will  repent'  He  said  to  him,  'If  they 
will  not  listen  to  Moses  and  the  prophets,  they  will  not  be 
convinced,  not  even  if  one  rose  from  the  dead." 


17 


drances  should  come,  but  woe  to  the  man  by  whom  they 

2  come;  it  would  be  well  for  him  to  have  a  millstone  hung 
round  his  neck  and  be  flung  into  the  sea,  rather  than  prove 

3  a  hindrance  to  one  of  these  little  ones!  Take  heed  to 
yourselves.     If  your  brother   sins,   check   him,   and   if   he 

4  repents  forgive  him.  Even  if  he  sins  against  you  seven 
times  in  one  day  and  turns  to  you  seven  times  saying,  'I 

5  repent,'  you  must  forgive  him."     The  apostles  said  to  the 

6  Lord,  "Give  us  more  faith!"  The  Lord  said,  "If  you  had 
faith  the  size  of  a  grain  of  mustard-seed,  you  would  say 
to   this   mulberry   tree,   'Be   uprooted   and   planted   in    the 

7  sea,'  and  it  would  obey  you.  Which  of  you,  with  a  servant 
out  ploughing  or  shepherding,  will  say  to  him  when  he 
comes  in  from,  the  field,  'Come  at  once  and  take  your  place 

8  at  table'?  Wiil  the  man  not  rather  say  to  him,  'Get  some- 
thing ready  for  my  supper;  gird  yourself  and  wait  on  me 
till  I  eat  and  drink;  then  you  can  eat  and  drink  yourself? 

j^  Does  he  thank  the  servant  for  doing  his  bidding?  Well, 
it  is  the  same  with  you;  when  you  have  done  all  you  are 
bidden,  say,  'We  are  but  servants;*  we  have  only  done  our 
duty.'  " 

11  Now  it  happened  in  the  course  of  his  journey  to  Jeru- 

12  salem  that  he  passed  between  Samaria  and  Galilee.  On 
entering  one  village  he  was  met  by  ten  lepers  who  stood  at 

13  a  distance  and  lifted  up  their  voice,  saying,  "Jesus,  master, 

14  have  pity  on  us."  Noticing  them  he  said,  "Go  and  show 
yourselves  to  the  priests.''     And  as  they  went  away  they 

15  were  cleansed.    Now  one  of  them  turned  back  when  he  saw 

16  he  was  cured,  glorifying  God  with  a  loud  voice;  and  he  fell 
on  his  face  at  the  feet  of  Jesus  and  thanked  him.    The  man 

17  was  a  Samaritan.     So  Jesus  said,  "Were  all   the  ten  not 

18  cleansed?  Where  are  the  other  nine?  Was  there  no  one 
to  return  and  give  glory  to  God   except  this  foreigner?" 

*  Omitting  dxpeiot.  with  Syr.Sin.  followed  by  most  recent  editors.  The 
emphasis  falls  on  the  simple  fact  of  being  slaves,  not  on  any  distinction 
between  good  and  bad  slaves. 


S.  LUKE  XVIII  121 

19  And  he  said  to  him,  "Get  up  and  go,  your  faith  has  made 
you  well." 

20  On  being  asked  by  the  Pharisees  when  the  Reign  of  God 
was  coming,  he  answered  them,  "The  Reign  of  God  is  not 

21  coming  as  you  hope  to  catch  sight  of  it;  no  one  will  say, 
'Here  it  is'  or  'There  it  is,'  for  the  Reign  of  God  is  now  in 

22  your  midst."     To  his  disciples  he  said,  "There  will  come 
days  when  you  will  long  and  long  in  vain  to  have  even  one 

23  day  of  the  Son  of  man.     Men  will  say,  'See,  here  he  is!' 
'See,  there  he  is!'  but  do  not  go  out  or  run  after  them, 

24  for  like  lightning  that  flashes  from  one  side  of  the  sky 

to  the  other, 
so  will  the  Son  of  man  be  on  his  own  day. 

25  But  he  must  first  endure  great  suffering  and  be  rejected 

26  by  the  present  generation.    And  just  as  it  was  in  the  days 
of  Noah,  so  will   it  be  in  the  days  of  the   Son  of  man; 

27  they  were  eating,  drinking,  marrying  and  being  married, 
till  the  day  Noah  entered  the  ark — then  came  the  deluge 

28  and  destroyed  them  all.     Or  just  as  it  was  in  the  days  of 
Lot;   they  were  eating,  drinking,  buying,  selling,  planting 

29  and  building,  but  on  the  day  that  Lot  left  Sodom  it  rained 
fire  and   brimstone  from   heaven  and   destroyed   them   all. 

30  So   will  it  be   on   the    day   the   Son   of   man   is   revealed. 

31  On  that  day,  if  a  man  is  on  the  housetop  and  his  goods 
inside  the  house,  he  must  not  go  down  to  fetch  them  out; 

32  nor  must  a  man  in  the  field  turn  back   (remember  Lot's 
wife). 

33  Whoever  tries  to  secure  his  life  will  lose  it, 
and  whoever  loses  it  will  preserve  it. 

34  On  that  night,  I  tell  you, 

there  will  be  two  men  in  the  one  bed, 
the  one  will  be  taken  and  the  other  left; 

35  two  women  will  be  grinding  together, 

the  one  will  be  taken  and  the  other  left.'* 
37  They  asked  him,  "Where,  Lord?" 
And  he  said  to  them, 
"Where  the  body  is  lying, 

there  the  vultures  will  gather." 

'J  ^  He  also  told  them  a  parable  about  the  need  of  always 

2  1  O  praying  and  never  losing  heart.     "In  a  certain  town," 
he  said,  "there  was  a  judge  who  had  no  reverence  for  God 

3  and  no  respect  even  for  man.    And  in  that  town  there  was 
a  widow  who  used  to  go  and  appeal  to  him  for  'Justice 

4  against  my  opponent!'    For  a  while  he  would  not,  but  after- 
wards he  said  to  himself,  'Though  I  have  no  reverence  for 

5  God  and  no  respect  even  for  man,  still,  as  this  widow  is 
bothering  me,  I  will  see  justice  done  to  her — not  to  have 


122  S.  LUKE  XVIII 

6  her  for  ever  coming  and  pestering  me.'     Listen,"  said  the 

7  Lord,  "to  what  this  unjust  Judge  says!  And  will  not  God 
see  justice  done  to  his  elect  who  cry  to  him  by  day  and 

8  night?  Will  he  be  tolerant  to  their  opponents?  I  tell  you, 
he  will  quickly  see  justice  done  to  his  elect!  And  yet,  when 
the  Son  of  man  does  come,  will  he  find  faith  on  earth?" 

9  He  also  told  the  following  parable  to  certain  persons  who 
were  sure  of  their  own  goodness  and  looked   down  upon 

10  everybody  else.    "Two  men  went  up  to  pray  in  the  temple; 

11  one  was  a  Pharisee  and  the  other  was  a  taxgatherer.  The 
Pharisee  stood  up  and  prayed  by  himself  as  follows;  'I 
thank  thee,  O  God,  I  am  not  like  the  rest  of  men,  thieves, 

12  rogues,  and  immoral,  or  even  like  yon  taxgatherer.    Twice 

13  a  week  I  fast;  on  all  my  income  I  pay  tithes.*  But  the  tax- 
gatherer  stood  far  away  and  would  not  lift  even  his  eyes  to 
heaven,  but  beat  his  breast,  saying,  'O  God,  have  mercy  on 

14  me  for  my  sins!'  I  tell  you,  he  went  home  accepted  by  God 
rather  than  the  other  man ; 

for  everyone  who  uplifts  himself  will  be  humbled, 
and  he  who  humbles  himself  will  be  uplifted." 

15  Now  people  even  brought  their  infants  for  him  to  touch 
them;   when  the   disciples  noticed   it  they  checked  them, 

16  but  Jesus  called  for  the  infants.  "Let  the  children  come 
to  me,"  he  said,  "do  not  stop  them:  the  Realm  of  God  be- 

17  longs  to  such  as  these.  I  tell  you  truly,  whoever  will  not 
submit  to  the  Reign  of  God  like  a  child  will  never  get  into 
it  at  all." 

18  Then  a  ruler  asked  him,  "Good  teacher,  what  am  I  to  do 

19  to  inherit  life  eternal?"    Jesus  said  to  him,  "Why  call  me 

20  'good'?  No  one  is  good,  no  one  but  God.  You  know  the 
commands:  do  not  commit  adultery,  do  not  kill,  do  not  steal, 
do  not  bear  false  witness,  honour  your  father  and  mother." 

21  He  said,  "I  have  observed  all  these  commands  from  my 

22  youth."  When  Jesus  heard  this  he  said  to  him,  "You  lack 
one  thing  more;  sell  all  you  have,  distribute  the  money 
among  the  poor  and  you  will  have  treasure  in  heaven;  then 

23  come  and  follow  me."     But  when  he  heard  that,  he  was 

24  vexed,  for  he  was  extremely  rich.  So  Jesus  looked  at  him 
and  said,  "How  difficult  it  is  for  those  who  have  money 

25  to  enter  the  Realm  of  God!  Why,  it  is  easier  for  a  camel 
to  get  through  a  needle's  eye  than  for  a  rich  man  to  get 

26  into  the  Realm  of  God."    His  hearers  said,  "Then  whoever 

27  can  be  saved?"     He  said,  "What  is  impossible  for  men  is 

28  possible   for   God."     Peter   said,   "Well,   we   have   left   our 

29  homes  and  followed  you!"  He  said  to  them,  "I  tell  you 
truly,  no  one  has  left  home  or  wife  or  brothers  or  parents 

30  or  children  for  the  sake  of  the  Realm  of  God,  who  does  not 
receive  ever  so  much  more  in  this  present  world,  and  in  the 


S.  LUKE  XIX  123 

31  world  to  come  life  eternal."  Then  he  took  the  twelve  aside 
"and  told  them,  "We  are  going  up  to  Jerusalem,  and  all  the 

predictions  of  the  prophets  regarding  the  Son  of  man  will 

32  be  fulfilled;   he  will  be  betrayed  to  the  gentiles,  mocked, 

33  illtreated,  and  spat  on ;  they  will  scourge  him  and  kill  him, 

34  but  he  will  rise  again  on  the  third  day."  However,  they  did 
not  understand  a  word  of  this;  indeed  the  saying  was 
hidden  from  them,  and  they  did  not  know  what  he  meant. 

35  As  he  approached  Jericho,  it  chanced  that  a  blind  man 

36  was  seated  beside  the  road  begging.     When  he  heard  the 

37  crowd  passing  he  inquired  what  was  the  matter,  and  they 

38  told  him  that  Jesus  the  Nazarene  was  going  by.     So  he 

39  shouted,  "Jesus,  Son  of  David,  have  pity  on  me!"  The 
people  in  front  checked  him  and  told  him  to  be  quiet,  but 
he  shouted  all  the  more,  "Son  of  David,  have  pity  on  me!" 

40  So  Jesus  stopped  and  ordered  them  to  bring  him,  and  asked 

41  him  when  he  approached,  "What  do  you  want  me  to  do 
for  you?"     "Lord,"  he  said,  "I  want  to  regain  my  sight." 

42  And  Jesus  said  to  him,  "Regain  your  sight,  your  faith  has 

43  made  you  well."  Instantly  he  regained  his  sight  and  fol- 
lowed him,  glorifying  God.  And  all  the  people  gave  praise 
to  God  when  they  saw  this. 

1  Q  Then  he  entered  Jericho.    And  as  he  passed  through 

2  1  «^  it,  there  was  a  man  called  Zacchaeus,  the  head  of  the 

3  taxgatherers,  a  wealthy  man,  who  tried  to  see  what  Jesus 
was  like;    but  he  could  not,  on  account  of  the  crowd — 

4  for  he  was  small  of  stature.  So  he  ran  forward  and 
climbed  into  a  sycomore  tree  to  get  a  sight  of  him,  as  he 

5  was  to  pass  that  road.  But  when  Jesus  reached  the  spot 
he  looked  up  and  said  to  him,  "Zacchaeus,  come  down  at 

6  once,  for  I  must  stay  at  your  house  to-day."    He  came  down 

7  at  once  and  welcomed  him  gladly.  But  when  they  saw 
this,   everyone  began  to  mutter  that  he  had  gone  to  be 

8  the  guest  of  a  sinner.  So  Zacchaeus  stopped  and  said  to 
the  Lord,  "I  will  give  the  half  of  all  I  have.  Lord,  to  the 
poor,  and  if  I  have  cheated  anybody  I  will  give  him  back 

9  four  times  as  much."  And  Jesus  said  of  him,  "To-day  sal- 
vation has  come  to  this  house,  since  Zacchaeus  here  is  a 

10  son  of  Abraham,     For  the  Son  of  man  has  come  to  seek 

11  and  save  the  lost."  He  went  on  to  tell  a  parable  in  their 
hearing,   as  he  was  approaching  Jerusalem  and  as  they 

12  imagined  God's  Reign  would  instantly  come  into  view.  "A 
nobleman,"  he  said,  "went  abroad  to  obtain  royal  power 

13  for  himself  and  then  return.  He  first  called  his  ten  serv- 
ants, giving  them  each  a  five-pound  note,  and  telling  them, 

14  'Trade  with  this  till  I  come  back.'  Now  his  people  hated 
him  and  sent  envoys  after  him  to  say,  'We  object  to  him 


124  S.  LUKE  XIX 

15  having  royal  power  over  us.'  However  he  secured  the 
royal  power  and  came  home.  Then  he  ordered  the  serv- 
ants to  be  called  who  had  been  given  the  money,  that  he 

16  might  find  out  what  business  they  had  done.  The  first 
came  up  saying,  'Your  five  pounds  has  made  other  fifty,  sir.' 

17  'Capital,'  he  said,  'you  excellent  servant!  because  you  have 
proved  trustworthy  in  a   trifle,   you   are  placed  over  ten 

18  towns.'    Then  the  second  came  and  said,  'Your  five  pounds 

19  has  made  twenty-five,  sir.'     To  him  he  said,  'And  you  are 

20  set  over  five  towns.'    Then  the  next  came  and  said,  'Here  is 

21  your  five  pounds,  sir;  I  kept  it  safe  in  a  napkin,  for  I  was 
afraid  of  you,  you  are  such  a  hard  man — picking  up  what 
you  never  put  down,  and  reaping  what  you  never  sowed.' 

22  He  replied,  'You  rascal  of  a  servant,  I  will  convict  you  by 
what  you  have  said  yourself.  You  knew,  did  you,  that  I 
was  a  hard  man,  picking  up  what  I  never  put  down,  and 

23  reaping  what  I  never  sowed!  Why  then  did  you  not  put 
my  money  into  the  bank,  so  that  I  could  have  got  it  with 

24  interest  when  I  came  back?'  Then  he  said  to  the  by- 
standers, 'Take  the  five  pounds  from  him  and  give  it  to  the 

25  man  with  fifty.'     'Sir,'   they  said,  'he  has  fifty  already!' 

26  'I  tell  you, 

to  everyone  who  has  shall  more  be  given, 

but  from  him  who  has  nothing,  even  what  he  has  shall 
be  taken. 

27  And  now  for  these  enemies  of  mine  who  objected  to  me 
reigning  over  them — bring  them  here  and  slay  them  in  my 
presence.'  " 

28  With  these  words  he  went  forward  on  his  way  up  to 

29  Jerusalem.  When  he  was  near  Bethphage ,  and  Bethany  at 
the  hill  called  the  Olive-Orchard,  he  despatched  two  of  his 

30  disciples,  saying,  "Go  to  the  village  in  front,  and  on  enter- 
ing it  you  will  find  a  colt  tethered  on  which  no  one  ever 

31  has  sat;  untether  it  and  bring  it.  If  anyone  asks  you, 
'Why  are  you  untethering  it?'  this  is  what  you  will  say, 

32  'The  Lord  needs  it.'  "    The  messengers  went  off  and  found 

33  the  colt  exactly  as  he  had  told  them.  As  they  were  un- 
tethering it,  the  owners  said  to  them,  "Why  are    you  un- 

34  tethering  the   colt?"     And   they  said,    "Because  the   Lord 

35  needs  it."    So  they  brought  it  to  Jesus,  and  throwing  their 

36  clothes  on  the  colt  they  mounted  Jesus  upon  it.  As  he  went 
forward  they  spread  their  clothes  under  him  on  the  road; 

37  and  as  he  was  now  close  to  the  descent  from  the  Hill  of 
Olives,  all  the  multitude  of  the  disciples  started  joyfully 
to  praise  God  with  a  loud  voice  for  all  *  they  had  seen, 

38  saying, 

*  Omitting  Svvdfxecov  with  the  old  Syriac  version,  which  preserves  the 
original  text  Trepl  irdm-uv  eldop  X^yovres. 


S.  LUKE  XX  125 

"Blessed  be  the  king  who  comes  in  the  Lord's  name! 
Peace  in  heaven  and  glory  in  the  High  places!" 

39  Some  Pharisees  in  the  crowd  said  to  him,  "Check  your 

40  disciples,  teacher."    But  he  replied,  "I  tell  you,  if  they  were 

41  to  keep  quiet,  the  very  stones  would  shout."    And  when  he 

42  saw  the  city,  as  he  approached,  he  wept  over  it,  saying, 
"Would  that  you  too  knew  even  to-day  on  what  your  peace 

43  depends!  But  no,  it  is  hidden  from  you!  A  time  is  coming 
for  you  when  your  enemies  will  throw  up  ramparts  round 

44  you  and  encircle  you  and  besiege  you  on  every  side  and 
raze  you  and  your  children  within  you  to  the  ground,  leav- 
ing not  one  stone  upon  another  within  you — and  all  because 
you  would  not  understand  when  God  was  visiting  you." 

45  Then  he  went  into  the  temple  and  proceeded  to  drive  out 

46  those  who  were  selling.  "It  is  written,"  he  told  them, 
"mt/  house  shall  de  a  house  of  prayer,  but  you  have  made 
it  a  den  of  robbers." 

47  Day  after  day  he  taught  within  the  temple.  The  high 
priests  and  scribes  tried  to  have  him  put  to  death,  and  so 

48  did  the  leaders  of  the  people,  but  they  could  not  discover 
what  was  to  be  done,  for  the  whole  of  the  people  hung  upon 
his  lips. 

Qr\  One   day,  when  he  was  teaching  the  people  in  the 
-^U  temple  and  preaching  the  gospel,  up  came  the  priests 

2  and  scribes  along  with  the  elders.  "Tell  us,"  they  said, 
"what  authority  you  have  for  acting  in  this  way?     Who 

3  was  it  that  gave  you  this  authority?"    He  answered  them, 

4  "Well,  I  will  ask  you  a  question.  Tell  me,  did  the  baptism  of 

5  John  come  from  heaven  or  from  men?"  Now  they  rea- 
soned to  themselves,   "If  we  say,  'From  heaven,'  he  will 

6  ask,  'Why  did  you  not  believe  him?'  And  if  we  say,  'From 
men,'  the  whole  of  the  people  will  stone  us,  for  they  are 

7  convinced  John  was  a  prophet."     So  they  answered  that 

8  they  did  not  know  where  it  came  from.  Jesus  said  to  them, 
"No  more  will  I  tell  you  what  authority  I  have  for  acting 
as  I  do." 

9  Then  he  proceeded  to  tell  the  people  the  following 
parable.     "A  man  planted  a  vineyard,  leased   it  to  vine- 

10  dressers,  and  went  abroad  for  some  time.  When  the  season 
came  round  he  sent  a  servant  to  the  vinedressers  to  receive 
part  of  the  produce  of  the  vineyard,  but  the  vinedressers 

11  flogged  him  and  sent  him  off  with  nothing.  He  proceeded 
to  send  another  servant,  and  they  flogged  him  too,  insulted 

12  him  and  sent  him  off  with  nothing.  Then  he  sent  still  a 
third,    but    this    one    they    wounded    and    threw    outside. 

13  Said  the  owner  of  the  vineyard,  'What  shall  I  do?     I  will 

14  send  my  beloved  son;  perhaps  they  will  respect  him.'    But 


126  S.  LUKE  XX 

when  the  vinedressers  saw  him,  they  argued  to  themselves, 
'Here  is  the  heir,  let  us  kill  him,  so  that  the  inheritance 

15  may  be  ours.'  And  they  threw  him  outside  the  vineyard 
and  killed  him.    Now  what  will  the  owner  of  the  vineyard 

16  do  to  them?  He  will  come  and  kill  these  vinedressers  and 
give  the  vineyard  to  others."    When  they  heard  that,  they 

17  said,  "God  forbid!"  But  he  looked  at  them  and  said,  "Then 
what  does  this  scripture  mean? — 

The  stone  that  the  tuilders  rejected 
is  the  chief  stone  now  of  the  corner. 

18  Everyone  who  falls  on  that  stone  will  be  shattered, 

and  whoever  it  falls  upon  will  be  crushed." 

19  At  that  hour  the  scribes  and  high  priests  tried  to  lay 
hands  on  him,  but  they  were  afraid  of  the  people.     They 

20  knew  he  had  meant  this  parable  for  them.  So  watching 
their  chance  they  sent  spies  who  pretended  to  be  honest 
persons,  in  order  to  seize  on  what  he  said  and  get  him 
handed  over  to  the  authority  and  jurisdiction  of  the  gov- 

21  ernor.  They  put  this  question  to  him,  "Teacher,  we  know 
you  are  straight  in  what  you  say  and  teach,  you  do  not 

22  look  to  human  favour  but  teach  the  Way  of  God  honestly.  Is 

23  it   right  for   us   to  pay   tribute   to   Caesar  or  not?"     But 

24  he  noted  their  knavery  and  said  to  them,  "Show  me  a  shil- 
ling.     Whose    likeness    and    inscription    does    it    bear?" 

25  "Caesar's,"  they  replied.  "Well  then,"  he  said  to  them, 
"give  Caesar  what  belongs  to  Caesar,  give  God  what  belongs 

26  to  God."  So  they  could  not  seize  on  what  he  said  before 
the  people,  and  marvelling  at  his  reply  they  said  nothing. 

27  Some  of  the  Sadducees  came  up,  who  deny  any  resurrec- 

28  tion,  and  put  a  question  to  him.  "Teacher,"  they  said, 
"Moses  has  written  this  law  for  us,  that  if  a  man's  mar- 
ried trother  dies  and  is  childless,  his  brother  is  to  take 

29  the  woman  and  raise  offspring  for  his  brother.  Well, 
there  were  seven  brothers.     The  first  married  a  wife  and 

IJ  died  childless.  The  second  and  the  third  took  her,  as  in- 
deed  all   the   seven   did,   dying   and   leaving  no   children. 

f|  Afterwards  the  woman  died  too.  Now  at  the  resurrection 
whose  wife  will  she  be?    She  was  wife  to  the  seven  of  them." 

34  Jesus  said  to  them,  "People  in  this  world  marry  and  are 

35  married,  but  those  who  are  considered  worthy  to  attain 
yonder  world  and  the  resurrection  from  the  dead  neither 

36  marry  nor  are  married,  for  they  cannot  die  any  more;  they 
are  equal  to  angels  and  by  sharing  in  the  resurrection  they 

37  are  sons  of  God.  And  that  the  dead  are  raised  has  been  in- 
dicated by  Moses  in  the  passage  on  the  Bush,  when  he  calls 
the  Lord  'Ood  of  Abraham  and  God  of  Isaac  and  Ood  of 

38  Jacob.*    God  is  not  a  God  of  dead  people  but  of  living,  for 

39  all  live  to  him."     Some  of  the  scribes  declared,  "Teacher, 


S.  LUKE  XXI  127 

40  that  was  a  fine  answer!"    They  no  longer  dared  to  put  any 

41  question  to  him.     But  he  said  to  them,  "How  can  people 

42  say  that  the  Christ  is  David's  son?  Why,  David  himself 
says  in  the  book  of  psalms, 

The  Lord  said  to  my  Lord,  'Sit  at  my  right  hand, 

43  till  I  make  your  enemies  a  footstool  for  your  feet* 

44  David  then  calls  him  Lord.     So  how  can  he  be  his  son?" 

45  And  in  the  hearing  of  all  the  people  he  said  to  his  disciples, 

46  "Beware  of  the  scribes!  They  like  to  walk  about  in  long 
robes,  they  are  fond  of  getting  saluted  in  the  market-places, 
of  securing  the  front  seats  in  the  synagogues  and  the  best 

47  places  at  banquets;  they  prey  upon  the  property  of  widows 
and  offer  long  unreal  prayers.  All  the  heavier  will  their 
sentence  be!" 

Q1    Looking  up  he  saw  the  rich  putting  their  gifts  into 
2-^1  the  treasury,  and  noticed  a  poor  widow  putting  two 

3  little   coins   in.     He   said,    "I   tell   you   plainly,   this   poor 

4  widow  has  put  in  more  than  them  all;  for  these  people 
all  contributed  out  of  their  surplus,  but  she  has  given  out 
of  her  neediness  all  her  living." 

5  Some  were  speaking  of  the  temple  with  its  ornamenta- 

6  tion  of  splendid  stones  and  votive  gifts,  but  he  said,  "As 
for  what  you  see,  there  are  days  coming  when  not  a  stone 

7  will  be  left  upon  another,  without  being  torn  down."  So 
they  asked   him,    "Teacher,    and   when   will   this   happen? 

8  What  will  be  the  sign  for  this  to  take  place?"  He  said, 
"Take  care  that  you  are  not  misled;  for  many  will  come 
in  my  name  saying,  *I  am  he'  and  'the  time  is  near' — do 

9  not  go  after  them.  And  when  you  hear  of  wars  and  dis- 
turbances,   do    not   be   scared;    these    have   to    come   first, 

10  but  the  end  is  not  at  once."  Then  he  said  to  them, 
"Nation  will  rise  against  nation,  and  realm  against  realm, 

11  there  will  be  great  earthquakes  with  famine  and  pestilence 
here   and  there,   there  will  be  awful   portents  and   great 

12  signs  from  heaven.  But  before  all  that,  men  will  lay  hands 
on  you  and  persecute  you,  handing  you  over  to  synagogues 
and  prisons;   you  will  be  dragged  before  kings  and  gov- 

13  ernors  for  the  sake  of  my  name.     That  will  turn  out  an 

14  opportunity  for  you  to  bear  witness.  So  resolve  to  your- 
selves that  you  will  not  rehearse  your  defence  beforehand, 

15  for  I  will  give  you  words  and  wisdom  that  not  one  of  your 

16  opponents  will  be  able  to  meet  or  refute.  You  will  be 
betrayed  by  your  very  parents  and  brothers  and  kinsmen 

17  and  friends,  and  some  of  you  will  be  put  to  death.     You 

18  will  be  hated  by  all  on  account  of  my  name;   but  not  a 

19  hair  of  your  head  will  perish.  Hold  out  stedfast  and  you 
win  your  souls. 


128  S.  LUKE  XXII 

20  But  whenever  you  see  Jerusalem  surrounded  by  armies, 

21  then  be  sure  her  desolation  is  not  far  away.  Then  let 
those  who  are  in  Judaea  fly  to  the  hills,  let  those  who  are 
in  the  city  escape,  and  let  not  those  who  are  in  the  country 

22  come  in  to  the  city;  for  these  are  the  days  of  the  divine 
Vengeance,  in  fulfilment  of  all  that  is  written  in  scripture. 

23  Woe  to  women  with  child  and  to  women  who  give  suck 
in  those  days,  for  sore  anguish  will  come  upon  the  land 

24  and  Wrath  on  this  people;  they  will  fall  by  the  edge  of  the 
sword,  they  will  be  carried  prisoners  to  all  nations,  and 
Jerusalem  will  be  under  the  heel  of  the  Gentiles  till  the 

25  period  of  the  Gentiles  expires.  And  there  will  be  signs  in 
sun  and  moon  and  stars,  while  on  earth  the  nations  will 
be  in  dismay  with  bewilderment  at   the  roar  of  sea  and 

26  leaves,  men  swooning  with  panic  and  foreboding  of  what 
is  to  befall  the  universe.     For  the  orbs  of  the  heavens  will 

27  he  shaken,  and  then  they  will  see  the  Son  of  man  coming 

28  in  a  cloud  with  power  and  great  glory.  But  when  these 
things  begin  to  happen,  look  up  and  raise  your  heads,  for 

29  your   release   is   not   far   distant."     And   he   told   them   a 

30  parable.  "Look  at  the  fig  tree  and  indeed  all  the  trees;  as 
soon  as  they  put  out  their  leaves,  you  can  see  for  yourselves 

31  that  summer  is  at  hand.  So,  whenever  you  see  all  this 
happen,  be  sure  the  Reign  of  God  is  at  hand. 

32  I   tell  you  truly,   the  present   generation   will   not  pass 

33  away  till  all  this  happens.  Heaven  and  earth  will  pass 
away,  but  my  words  never. 

34  Take  heed  to  yourselves  in  case  your  hearts  get  over- 
powered by  dissipation  and  drunkenness  and  worldly 
anxieties,   and  so  that  Day   catches  you   suddenly  like  a 

35  trajj.    For  it  will  come  upon  all  dwellers  on  the  face  of  all 

36  the  earth.  From  hour  to  hour  keep  awake,  praying  that 
you  may  succeed  in  escaping  all  these  dangers  to  come  and 
in  standing  before  the  Son  of  man." 

37  By  day  he  taught  in  the  temple,  but  at  night  he  went 
outside  the  city  and  passed  the  night  on  the  hill  called 

38  the  Olive-Orchard.  And  all  the  people  used  to  come  early 
in  the  morning  to  listen  to  him  in  the  temple. 

oo  Now  the  feast  of  unleavened  bread  which  is  called 
2  ^^  the  passover  was  near.     The  high  priests  and  scribes 

were  trying  how  to  get  him  put  to  death  (for  they  were 
8  afraid    of    the    people),    and    Satan    entered    Judas    called 

4  Iscariot,  a  member  of  the  twelve,  who  went  off  to  discuss 
with  the  high  priests  and  commanders  how  he  could  betray 

5  him  to  them.     They  were  delighted  and  agreed  to  pay  him 

6  for  it.     He  assented  to  this  and  sought  a  good  opportunity 
for  betraying  him  to  them  in  the  absence  of  the  crowd. 


S.  LUKE  XXII  129 

7  Then  came  the  d^y  of  unleavened  bread  when  the  paschal 

8  lamb  had  to  be  sacrificed.     So  Jesus  despatched  Peter  and 
John,  saying,   "Go  and  prepare  the  passover  for  us  that 

9  we  may  eat  it."    They  asked  him,  "Where  do  you  want  us 

10  to  prepare  it?"  He  said  to  them,  "When  you  enter  the  city 
you  will  meet  a  man  carrying  a  water-jar:   follow  him  to 

11  the  house  he  enters,  and  tell  the  owner  of  the  house,  'The 
Teacher  asks  you.  Where  is  the  room  in  which  I  can  eat 

12  the  passover  with  my  disciples?'  Then  he  will  show  you 
a  large   room  upstairs  with  couches  spread;    make  your 

13  preparations  there."     They  went  off  and  found  it  was  as 

14  he  had  told  them.  So  they  prepared  the  passover,  and 
when  the  hour  came  he  took  his  place,  with  the  apostles 

15  beside  him.     He  said  to  them,  "I  have  longed  eagerly  to 

16  eat  this  passover  with  you  before  I  suffer,  for  I  tell  you  I 
will  never  eat  the  passover  again  till  the  fulfilment  of  it  in 

17  the  Reign  of  God."  And  he  took  a  cup  which  was  handed 
to  him,  gave  thanks  to  God  and  said,  "Take  this  and  dis- 

18  tribute  it  among  yourselves,  for  I  tell  you  I  will  never 
drink  the  produce  of  the  vine  again  till  such  time  as  God's 

19  Reign  comes."  Then  he  took  a  loaf  and  after  thanking 
God  he  broke  it  and  gave  it  to  them,  saying,  "This  means 
my  body  given  up  for  your  sake;    do  this  in  memory  of 

20  me."  So  too  he  gave  them  the  cup  after  supper,  saying, 
"This  cup  means  the  new  covenant  ratified  by  my  blood 

21  shed  for  your  sake.     But  the  hand  of  my  betrayer  is  on 

22  the  table  beside  me!  The  Son  of  man  moves  to  his  end 
indeed  as  it  has  been  decreed,  but  woe  to  the  man  by  whom 

23  he  is  betrayed!"  And  they  began  to  discuss  among  them- 
selves which  of  them  could  possibly  be  going  to  do  such  a 

24  thing.     A  quarrel  also  rose  an^ong  them  as  to  which  of 

25  them  could  be  considered  the  greatest.  But  Jesus  said  to 
them, 

"The  kings  of  the  Gentiles  rule  over  them, 
and  their  authorities  take  the  name  of  'Benefactor': 

26  not  so  with  you. 

He  who  is  greatest  among  you  must  be  like  the  youngest, 
and  he  who  is  chief  like  a  servant. 

27  Which  is  the  greatest,  guest  or  servant?    Is  it  not  the 

guest? 
But  I  am  among  you  as  a  servant. 

28  It   is   you    who   have    stood   by   me   through   my   trials; 

29  so,    even    as    my    Father    has    assigned    me    royal    power, 

30  I  assign  you  the  right  of  eating  and  drinking  at  my  table  in 
my  Realm  and  of  sitting  on  thrones  to  rule  the  twelve 

31  tribes  of   Israel.     Simon,   Simon,   Satan   has   claimed  the 

32  right  to  sift  you  all  like  wheat,  but  I  have  prayed  that  your 
own   faith   may   not  fail.     And   you   in   turn   must  be   a 


130  S.  LUKE  XXII 

33  strength  to  your  brothers."    "Lord,",  he  said,  "I  am  ready 

34  to  go  with  you  to  prison  and  to  death."  Jesus  said,  "I  tell 
you,  Peter,  the  cock  will  not  crow  to-day  before  you  have 

35  three  times  denied  that  you  know  me."  And  he  said  to 
them,  "When  I  sent  you  out  with  neither  purse  nor  wallet 
nor  sandals,  did  you  want  for  anything?"    "No,"  they  said, 

36  "for  nothing."  Then  he  said  to  them,  "But  he  who  has  a 
purse  must  take  it  now,  and  the  same  with  a  wallet;  and 
he  who  has  no   sword  must  sell  his  coat  and  buy  one. 

37  For  I  tell  you,  this  word  of  scripture  must  be  fulfilled  in 
me:  he  was  classed  among  criminals.    Yes,  there  is  an  end 

38  to  all  that  refers  to  me."  "Lord,"  they  said,  "here  are  two 
swords!"     "Enough!   Enough!"  he  answered. 

39  Then  he  went  outside  and  made  his  way  to  the  Hill  of 
Olives,  as  he  was  accustomed.    The  disciples  followed  him, 

40  and  when  he  reached  the  spot  he  said  to  them,  "Pray  that 

41  you  may  not  slip  into  temptation."     He  withdrew  about  a 

42  stone's  throw  and  knelt  in  prayer,  saying,  "Father,  if  it 
please  thee,  take  this  cup  away  from  me.    But  thy  will,  not 

43  mine,  be  done."     [And  an  angel  from  heaven  appeared  to 

44  strengthen  him;  he  fell  into  an  agony  and  prayed  with 
greater  intensity,  his  sweat  dropping  to  the  ground  like 

45  clots  of  blood.]     Then  rising  from  prayer  he  went  to  the 

46  disciples,  only  to  find  them  asleep  from  sheer  sorrow.  He 
said  to  them,  "Why  are  you  sleeping?     Get  up  and  pray 

47  that  you  may  not  slip  into  temptation."  While  he  was  still 
speaking,  there  came  a  mob  headed  by  the  man  called 
Judas,  one  of  the  twelve.     He  approached  in  order  to  kiss 

48  Jesus,  but  Jesus  said  to  him,  "Judas!   would  you  betray 

49  the  Son  of  man  with  a  kiss?"  Now  when  the  supporters 
of  Jesus  saw  what  was  going  to  happen,  they  said,  "Lord, 

50  shall  we  strike  with  our  swords?"  And  one  of  them  did 
strike  the  servant  of  the  high  priest,  cutting  off  his  right 

51  ear.    Jesus  said,  "Let  me  do  this  at  least,"  and  cured  him 

52  by  touching  his  ear.  Then  he  said  to  the  high  priests  and 
commanders  of  the  temple  and  elders  who  had  appeared 
to  take  him,  "Have  you  sallied  out  to  arrest  me  like  a 

53  robber,  with  swords  and  clubs?  Day  after  day  I  was 
beside  you  in  the  temple,  and  you  never  stretched  a  hand 
against  me.  But  this  is  your  hour,  and  the  dark  Power 
has  its  way." 

54  Then  they  arrested  him  and  led  him  away  inside  the 
house  of  the  high  priest.    Peter  followed  at  a  distance  and 

55  sat  down  among  some  people  who  had  lit  a  fire  in  the 

56  courtyard  and  were  sitting  round  it.  A  maidservant  who 
noticed  him  sitting  by  the  fire  took  a  long  look  at  him  and 

57  said,  "That  fellow  was  with  him  too."     But  he  disowned 

58  him,  saying,  "Woman,  I  know  nothing  about  him."    Shortly 


S.  LUKE  XXIII  131 

afterwards  another  man  noticed  him  and  said,  "Why,  you 

59  are  one  of  them!"  "Man,"  said  Peter,  "I  am  not."  About 
an  hour  had  passed  when  another  man  insisted,  "That 
fellow    really   was   with   him.      Why,    he    is   a   Galilean!" 

60  "Man,"  said  Peter,  "I  do  not  know  what  you  mean."     In- 

61  stantly,  just  as  he  was  speaking,  the  cock  crowed;  the 
Lord  turned  round  and  looked  at  Peter,  and  then  Peter 
remembered  what  the  Lord  had  told  him,  that  'Before  cock- 

62  crow  to-day  you  will  disown  me  three  times.'  And  he 
went  outside  and  wept  bitterly. 

63  Meantime  the  men  who  had  Jesus  in  custody  flogged  him 

64  and  made  fun  of  him;    blindfolding  him  they  would  ask 

65  him,  "Prophesy,  tell  us  who  struck  you?"  And  many  an- 
other insult  they  uttered  against  him. 

66  When  day  broke,  the  elders  of  the  people  all  met  along 
with  the  high  priests  and  scribes,  and  had  him  brought 

67  before  their  Sanhedrin.  They  said  to  him,  "Tell  us  if  you 
are  the  Christ."     He  said  to  them,  "You  will  not  believe 

68  me  if  I  tell  you,  and  you  will  not  answer  me  when  I  put 

69  a  question  to  you.     But  after  this  the  Son  of  man  will  te 

70  seated  at  Ood's  right  hand  of  power."  "Are  you  the  Son  of 
God  then?"  they  all  said.    "Certainly,"  he  replied,  "I  am." 

71  So  they  said,  "What  more  evidence  do  we  need?  We  have 
heard  it  from  his  own  lips." 

oo  Then  the  whole  body  of  them  rose  and  led  him  to 

2  .^O  Pilate.  They  proceeded  to  accuse  him,  saying,  "We 
have  discovered  this  fellow  perverting  our  nation,  for- 
bidding tribute  being  paid  to  Caesar,  and  alleging  he  is  king 

3  messiah."     Pilate  asked  him,   "Are  you  the  king  of  the 

4  Jews?"  He  replied,  "Certainly."  And  Pilate  said  to  the 
high  priests  and  the  crowds,  "I  cannot  find  anything  crim- 

5  inal  about  him."  But  they  insisted,  "He  stirs  up  the  people 
by  teaching  all  over  Judaea.     He  started  from  Galilee  and 

6  now  he  is  here."    When  Pilate  heard  that,  he  asked  if  the 

7  man  was  a  Galilean,  and  ascertaining  that  he  came  under 
the  jurisdiction  of  Herod,  he  remitted  him  to  Herod,  who 

8  himself  was  in  Jerusalem  during  those  days.  Herod  was 
greatly  delighted  to  see  Jesus;  he  had  long  wanted  to  see 
him,  because  he  had  heard  about  him  and  also  because 

9  he  hoped  to  see  him  perform  some  miracle.  But  though 
he  put  many  questions  to  him,  Jesus  gave  him  no  answer. 

10  Meanwhile  the  high  priests  and  scribes  stood  and  accused 

11  him  with  might  and  main.  Then  Herod  and  his  troops 
scoffed  at  him  and  made  fun  of  him,  and  after  arraying 

12  him  in  a  bright  robe  he  remitted  him  to  Pilate.  Herod  and 
Pilate,  became  friends  that  day — previously  they  had  been 
at  enmity. 


132  S.  LUKE  XXIII 

13  Then   summoning  the  high  priests  and  rulers  and  the 

14  people,  Pilate  said  to  them,  "You  brought  me  this  man  as 
being  an  inciter  to  rebellion  among  the  people.  I  have 
examined  him  before  you  and  found  nothing  criminal  about 

15  him,  for  all  your  accusations  against  him.  No,  nor 
has    Herod,    for    he    has    remitted    him    to    us.      He    has 

16  done     nothing,     you     see,     that     calls     for     death;     so     I 

18  shall  release  him  with  a  whipping.""-  But  they  shouted  one 
and   all,   "Aw^ay  with   him!      Release   Bar-Abbas  for  us!" 

19  (This  was  a  man  who  had  been  put  into  prison  on  account 
of  a  riot  which  had  taken  place  in  the  city  and  also  on  a 

20  charge  of  murder.)     Again  Pilate  addressed  them,  for  he 

21  wanted  to  release  Jesus,  but  they  roared,  "To  the  cross, 

22  to  the  cross  with  him!"  He  asked  them  a  third  time,  "But 
what  crime  has  he  committed?  I  have  found  nothing  about 
him  that  deserves  death;    so  I   shall  release  him  with  a 

23  whipping."  But  they  loudly  urged  their  demand  that  he 
should    be    crucified,    and    their    shouts    carried    the    day. 

24  Pilate  gave  sentence  that  their  demand  was  to  be  carried 

25  out;  he  released  the  man  they  wanted,  the  man  who  had 
been  imprisoned  for  riot  and  murder,  and  Jesus  he  handed 
over  to  their  will. 

26  As  they  led  him  off  they  caught  hold  of  Simon  a  Cyrenian 
on  his  way  from  the  country  and  laid  the  cross  on  him  to 

27  carry  after  Jesus.  He  was  followed  by  a  large  multitude 
of  the  people  and  also  of  women  who  beat  their  breasts  and 

28  lamented  him;  but  Jesus  turned  to  them  and  said,  "Daugh- 
ters of  Jerusalem,  weep  not  for  me  but  weep  for  yourselves 

^9  and  for  your  children!     For  there  are  days  coming  when 
the  cry  will  be, 
'Blessed  are  the  barren, 

the  wombs  that  never  have  borne 

and  the  breasts  that  never  have  suckled!' 

30  Then  will  people  say  to  the  mountains,  'Fall  on  usV  and 

to  the  hills,  'Cover  us.' 

31  For  if  this  is  what  they  do  when  the  wood  is  green, 

what  will  they  do  when  the  wood  is  dry?" 

32  Two  criminals  were  also  led  out  with  him  to  be  executed, 

33  and  when  they  came  to  the  place  called  The  Skull  they 
crucified  him  there  with  the  criminals,  one  at  his  right 

34  and  one  at  his  left.  Jesus  said,  "Father,  forgive  them,  they  do 
not  know  what  they  are  doing."    Then  they  distributed  Jiis 

35  elotJies  among  themselves  by  drawing  lots.  The  people 
stood  and  looked  on,  and  even  the  rulers  sneered  at  him, 
saying,  "He  saved  others,  let  him  save  himself,  if  he  is  the 

*  Omitting  [dvdyK'r)v  S^  c^x^"  otoXiJciv  airroTs  Kark  ioprrjv  ipa]  as  an  ex- 
planatory and  hamionistic  gloss. 


S.  LUKE  XXIV  133 

36  Christ  of  God,  the  Chosen  One!"     The  soldiers  made  fun 

37  of  him  too  by  coming  up  and  handing  him  vinegar,  saying, 

38  "If  you  are  the  king  of  the  Jews,  save  yourself."  (For 
there  was  an  inscription  over  him  in  Greek  and  Latin 
and  Hebrew  characters, 

THIS   IS   THE  KING  OF  THE  JEWS.) 

39  One  of  the  criminals  who  had  been  hung  also  abused  him, 
saying,  "Are  you  not  the  Christ?    Save  yourself  and  us  as 

40  well."  But  the  other  checked  him,  saying,  "Have  you  no 
fear  even  of  God?    You  are  suffering  the  same  punishment 

41  as   he.     And  we   suffer   justly;    we   are  getting  what   we 

42  deserve  for  our  deeds.  But  he  has  done  no  harm."  And 
he   added,   "Jesus,    do   not   forget   me   when  you   come   to 

43  reign."  "I  tell  you  truly,"  said  Jesus,  "you  will  be  in 
paradise  with  me  this  very  day." 

44  By  this  time  it  was  about  twelve  o'clock,  and  darkness 

45  covered  the  whole  land  till  three  o'clock,  owing  to  an 
eclipse  of  the  sun;  the  curtain  in  the  middle  of  the  temple 

46  was  torn  in  two.  Then  with  a  loud  cry  Jesus  said,  "Father, 
/  trust  iny  spirit  to  thy  hands,"  and  with  these  words  he 

47  expired.  When  the  army-captain  saw  what  had  happened, 
he  glorified  God,  saying,  "This  man  was  really  innocent." 

48  And  when  all  the  crowds  who  had  collected  for  the  sight 
saw  what  had  happened,  they  turned  away  beating  their 

49  breasts.  As  for  his  acquaintances,  they  ivere  all  standing 
at  a  distance  to  look  on,  with  the  women  who  had  accom- 
panied him  from  Galilee, 

50  Now    there    was    a    man    called    Joseph,    a    member    of 

51  council  but  a  good  and  just  man  who  had  not  voted  for 
their  plan  of  action;  he  belonged  to  Arimathaea,  a  Jewish 
town,  and  he  was  on  the  outlook  for  the  Reign  of  God. 

52  This  Joseph  went  to  Pilate  and  asked  him  for  the  body 

53  of  Jesus.  He  then  took  it  down,  wrapped  it  in  linen,  and 
put  it  in  a  tomb  cut  out  of  the  rock,  where  no  one  had  yet 

54  been  buried.     It  was  the  day  of  the  Preparation  and  the 

55  sabbath  was  just  dawning.  So  the  women  who  had  accom- 
panied him  from   Galilee  and  who  had  followed  Joseph, 

56  noted  the  tomb  and  the  position  of  the  body;  then  they 
went  home  and  prepared  spices  and  perfumes. 

o^  On  the  sabbath  they  rested  in  obedience  to  God's 
^^  command,  but  on  the  first  day  of  the  week  at  early 
dawn  they  took  the  spices  they  had  prepared  and  went  to 

2  the  tomb.     The  boulder  they  found  rolled  away  from  the 

3  tomb,  but  when  they  went  inside  they  could  not  find  the 

4  body  of  the  Lord  Jesus.     They  were   puzzling  over   this, 

5  when  two  men  flashed  on  them  in  dazzling  raiment.    They 


134  S.  LUKE  XXIV 

were  terrified  and  bent  their  faces  to  the  ground,  but  the 
men  said  to  them,  "Why  do  you  look  among  the  dead  for 

6  him  who  is  alive?    He  is  not  here,  he  has  risen.    Remember 

7  how  he  told  you  when  he  was  still  in  Galilee  that  the  Son 
of  man  had  to  be  betrayed  into  the  hands  of  sinful  men 

8  and  be  crucified  and  rise  on  the  third  day."     Then  they 

9  remembered  what  he  had  said,  and  turning  away  from  the 
tomb  they  reported  all  this  to  the  eleven  and  all  the  others. 

10  (It  was  Mary  of  Magdala,  Joanna,  and  Mary  the  mother  of 
James  who  with  the  rest  of  the  women  told  this  to  the 

11  apostles.)  But  this  story  of  the  women  seemed  in  their 
opinion    to    be    nonsense;    they    would    not   believe    them. 

12  Peter  did  get  up  and  run  to  the  tomb,  but  when  he  looked 
in  he  saw  nothing  except  the  linen  bandages;  so  he  went 
away  home  wondering  what  had  happened. 

13  That  very  day  two  of  them  were  on  their  way  to  a  village 

14  called  Emmaus  about  seven  miles  from  Jerusalem.     They 

15  were  conversing  about  all  these  events,  and  during  their 
conversation  and  discussion  Jesus  himself  approached  and 

16  walked    beside    them,    though    they   were    prevented    from 

17  recognizing  him.  He  said  to  them,  "What  is  all  this  you 
are  debating  on  your  walk?"    They  stopped,  looking  down- 

18  cast,  and  one  of  them,  called  Cleopas,  answered  him,  "Are 
you  a  lone  stranger  in  Jerusalem,  not  to  know  what  has 

19  been  happening  there?"  "What  is  that?"  he  said  to  them. 
They  replied,  "All  about  Jesus  of  Nazaret!  To  God  and 
all  the  people  he  was  a  prophet  strong  in  action  and  utter- 

20  ance,  but  the  high  priests  and  our  rulers  delivered  him  up 

21  to  be  sentenced  to  death  and  crucified  him.  Our  own  hope 
was  that  he  would  be  the  redeemer  of  Israel;  but  he  is  dead, 

22  and  that  is  three  days  ago!  Though  some  women  of  our 
number  gave  us  a  surprise;  they  were  at  the  tomb  early  in 

23  the  morning  and  could  not  find  his  body,  but  they  came  to 
tell  us  they  had  actually  seen  a  vision  of  angels  who  de- 

24  clared  he  was  alive.  Some  of  our  company  did  go  to  the 
tomb   and   found   things   exactly  as   the   women   had   said, 

25  but  they  did  not  see  him."  He  said  to  them,  "O  foolish 
men,  with  hearts  so  slow  to  believe,  after  all  the  prophets 

26  have  declared!     Had  not  the  Christ  to  suffer  thus  and  so 

27  enter  his  glory?"  Then  he  began  with  Moses  and  all  the 
prophets  and  interpreted  to  them  the   passages  referring 

28  to  himself  throughout  the  scriptures.  Now  they  approached 
the  village  to  which  they  were  going.     He  pretended  to  be 

29  going  further  on,  but  they  pressed  him,  saying,  "Stay  with 
us,  for  it  is  getting  towards  evening  and  the  day  has  now 

30  declined."  So  he  went  in  to  stay  with  them.  And  as  he 
lay  at  table  with  them  he  took  the  loaf,  blessed  it,  broke  it 

31  and  handed  it  to  them.     Then  their  eyes  were  opened  and 


S.  LUKE  XXIV  135 

they   recognized  him,  but  he  vanished   from   their   sight. 

32  And  they  said  to  one  another,  "Did  not  our  hearts  glow 
within  us  when  he  was  talking  to  us  on  the  road,  opening 

33  up  the  scriptures  for  us?"  So  they  got  up  and  returned 
that  very  hour  to  Jerusalem,  where  they  found  the  eleven 

34  and  their  friends  all  gathered,  who  told  them  that  the  Lord 
had    really   risen    and    that   he   had    appeared    to    Simon. 

35  Then  they  related  their  own  experience  on  the  road  and 
how   they   had   recognized   him   when   he   broke   the   loaf. 

36  Just  as  they  were  speaking  He  stood  among  them  [and  said 

37  to  them,  "Peace  to  you!"]     They  were  scared  and  terrified, 

38  imagining  it  was  a  ghost  they  saw;  but  he  said  to  them, 
"Why  are  you  upset?     Why  do  doubts  invade  your  mind? 

39  Look  at  my  hands  and  feet.    It  is  I!     Peel  me  and  see;  a 

40  ghost  has  not  flesh  and  bones  as  you  see  I  have."     [With 

41  these  words  he  showed  them  his  hands  and  feet.]  Even 
yet  they  could  not  believe  it  for  sheer  joy;  they  were  lost 

42  in  wonder.    So  he  said  to  them,  "Have  you  any  food  here?" 

43  And  when  they  handed  him  a  piece  of  broiled  fish,  he  took 

44  and  ate  it  in  their  presence.  Then  he  said  to  them,  "When 
I  was  still  with  you,  this  is  what  I  told  you,  that  whatever 
is  written  about  me  in  the  law  of  Moses  and  the  prophets 

45  and  the  psalms  must  be  fulfilled."     Then  he  opened  their 

46  minds  to  understand  the  scriptures.  "Thus,"  he  said,  "it  is 
written  that  the  Christ  has  to  suffer  and  rise  from  the 

47  dead  on  the  third  day,  and  that  repentance  and  the  remis- 
sion of  sins  must  be  preached  in  his  name  to  all  nations, 

48  beginning  from  Jerusalem.     To  this  you  must  bear  testi- 

49  mony.  And  I  will  send  down  on  you  what  my  Father  has 
promised;  wait  in  the  city  till  you  are  endued  with  power 

50  from  on  high."    He  led  them  out  as  far  as  Bethany;  then, 

51  lifting  his  hands,  he  blessed  them.    And  as  he  blessed  them 

52  he  parted  from  them  [and  was  carried  up  to  heaven].  They 
[worshipped  him  and]    returned   with  great  joy  to  Jeru- 

63  salem,  where  they  spent  all  their  time  within  the  temple, 
blessing  God. 


THE  GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO 

S.  JOHN 

IThe  Logos  existed  in  the  very  beginning, 
the  Logos  was  with  God, 
the  Logos  was  divine. 

2  He  was  with  God  in  the  very  beginning: 

3  through  him  all  existence  came  into  being, 
no  existence  came  into  being  apart  from  him. 

4  In  him  life  lay, 

and  this  life  was  the  Light  for  men: 

5  amid  the  darkness  the  Light  shone, 
but  the  darkness  did  not  master  it. 

6  A  man  appeared,  sent  by  God,  whose  name  was  John: 

7  he  came  for  the  purpose  of  witnessing,  to  bear  testimony 
to  the  Light,  so  that  all  men  might  believe  by  means  of 

8  him.     He  was  not  the  Light;   it  was  to  bear  testimony  to 

9  the    Light    that    he    appeared.      The    real    Light,    which 
enlightens  every  man,  was  coming  then  into  the  world: 

10  he  entered  the  world — 

the  world  which  existed  through  him — 
yet  the  world  did  not  recognize  him; 

11  he  came  to  what  was  his  own, 

yet  his  own  folk  did  not  welcome  him. 

12  On  those  who  have  accepted  him,  however,  he  has  con- 
ferred the  right  of  being  children  of  God,  that  is,  on  those 

13  who  believe  in  his  Name,  who  owe  this  birth  of  theirs  to 
God,  not  to  human  blood,  nor  to  any  impulse  of  the  flesh  or 

14  of  man.  So  the  Logos  became  flesh  and  tarried  among  us; 
we  have  seen  his  glory — glory  such  as  an  only  son  enjoys 
from  his  father — seen  it  to  be  full  of  grace  and  reality. 

15  (John  testified  to  him  with  the  cry,  'This  was  he  of  whom 
I  said,  my  successor  has  taken  precedence  of  me,  for  he 

16  preceded  me.')     For  we  have  all  been  receiving  grace  after 

17  grace  from  his  fulness;  while  the  Law  was  given  through 
Moses,  grace  and  reality  are  ours  through  Jesus  Christ. 

18  Nobody  has  ever  seen  God,  but  God  has  been  unfolded  by 
the  divine  One,  the  only  Son,*  who  lies  upon  the  Father's 
breast. 

19  Now  here  is  John's  testimony.    When  the  Jews  of  Jeru- 

*  Although  de6s  ('  the  di\ane  one  ')  is  probably  more  original  than 
the  variant  reading  vl6s,  fwvoyemfis  (see  ver.  14)  requires  some  such 
periphrasis  in  order  to  bring  out  its  full  meaning  here. 

136 


S.  JOHN  I  137 

salem  despatched  priests  and  Levites  to  ask  him,  "Who  are 

20  you?"  he  frankly  confessed— he  did  not  deny  it,  he  frankly 

21  confessed,  "I  am  not  the  Christ."  They  asked  him,  "Then 
what  are  you?    Elijah?"     He  said,  "I  am  not."     "Are  you 

22  the  Prophet?"  "No,"  he  answered.  "Then  who  are  you?" 
they  said;  "tell  us,  so  that  we  can  give  some  answer  to 
those  who  sent  us.     What  have  you  to  say  for  yourself?" 

23  He  said,  "I  am 

the  voice  of  one  ivho  cries  in  the  desert, 
'level  the  way  for  the  Lord' — 

24  as   the  prophet   Isaiah   said."     Now  it  was   some  of  the 

25  Pharisees  who  had  been  sent  to  him;  so  they  asked  him, 
saying,   "Then  why  are  you  baptizing  people,   if  you  are 

26  neither  the  Christ  nor  Elijah  nor  the  Prophet?"  "I  am 
baptizing   with   water,"   John   replied,   "but   my   successor 

27  is   among  you.   One   whom   you    do   not   recognize,   and   I 

28  am  not  fit  to  untie  the  string  of  his  sandal."  This  took 
place  at  Bethany  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Jordan,  where 
John  was  baptizing. 

29  Next  day  he  observed  Jesus  coming  towards  him  and 
exclaimed,    "Look,   there   is   the  lamb   of   God,   who   is   to 

30  remove  the  sin  of  the  world!  That  is  he  of  whom  I  said, 
'The  man  who  is  to  succeed  me  has  taken  precedence  of 

31  me,  for  he  preceded  me.'  I  myself  did  not  recognize  him; 
I  only  came  to  baptize  with  water,  in  order  that  he  might 

32  be  disclosed  to  Israel."  And  John  bore  this  testimony  also: 
"I  saw  the  Spirit  descend  like  a  dove  from  heaven  and  rest 

33  on  him.  I  myself  did  not  recognize  him,  but  He  who  sent 
me  to  baptize  with  water  told  me,  'He  on  whom  you  see  the 
Spirit  descending  and  resting,  that  is  he  who  baptizes  with 

34  the  holy  Spirit.'  Now  I  did  see  it,  and  I  testify  that  he 
is  the  Son  of  God." 

35  Next  day  again  John  was  standing  with  two  of  his  dis- 

36  ciples;   he  gazed  at  Jesus  as  he  walked  about,  and  said, 

37  "Look,  there  is  the  lamb  of  God!"    The  two  disciples  heard 

38  what  he  said  and  went  after  Jesus.  Now  Jesus  turned, 
and  when  he  observed  them  coming  after  him,  he  asked 
them,  "What  do  you  want?"  They  replied,  "Rabbi"  (which 
may  be  translated,  'teacher'),  "where  are  you  staying?"   He 

39  said  to  them,  "Come  and  see."  So  they  went  and  saw 
where  he  stayed,  and  stayed  with  him  the  rest  of  that  day 

40  — it  was  then  about  four  in  the  afternoon.  One  of  the 
two  men  who  heard  what  John  said  and  went  after  Jesus 

41  was  Andrew,  the  brother  of  Peter.  In  the  morning*  he  met 
his   brother    Simon   and   told   him,    "We   have   found   the 

*  The  Greek  word  {irput)  has  been  misread  in  nearly  all  the  MSS. 
for  "  first  "  (irpuTov)  j  see  the  note  in  Mrs.  A.  S.  Lewis's  Old  Syriac 
Gospels  (1910),  pp.  xxviii-xxix. 


138  S.  JOHN  II 

42  messiah"  (which  may  be  translated,  'Christ').  He  took 
him  to  Jesus;  Jesus  gazed  at  him  and  said,  "You  are 
Simon,  the  son  of  John?  Your  name  is  to  be  Cephas" 
(meaning  'Peter'  or  'rock'). 

43  Next  day  Jesus  determined  to  leave  for  Galilee;   there 

44  he  met  Philip  and  told  him,  "Follow  me."  Now  Philip 
belonged   to    Bethsaida,    the   same    town   as   Andrew    and 

45  Peter;  he  met  Nathanael  and  told  him,  "We  have  found 
him  whom  Moses  wrote  about  in  the  Law,  and  also  the 
prophets — it  is  Jesus,  the  son  of  Joseph,  who  comes  from 

46  Nazaret."    "Nazaret!"  said  Nathanael,  "can  anything  good 

47  come  out  of  Nazaret?"  "Come  and  see,"  said  Philip.  Jesus 
saw  Nathanael  approaching  and  said  of  him,  "Here  is  a 

48  genuine  Israelite!  There  is  no  guile  in  him."  Nathanael 
said  to  him,  "How  do  you  know  me?"  Jesus  answered, 
"When  you  were  under  that  fig  tree,  before  ever  Philip 

49  called  you,  I  saw  you."    "Rabbi,"  said  Nathanael,  "you  are 

50  the  Son  of  God,  you  are  the  king  of  Israel!"  Jesus 
answered,  "You  believe  because  I  told  you  I  had  seen  you 

51  under  that  fig  tree?  You  shall  see  more  than  that."  He 
said  to  him,  '.'Truly,  truly  I  tell  you  all,*  you  shall  see 
heaven  open  wide  and  God's  angels  ascending  and  descend- 
ing upon  the  Son  of  man." 

2  Two  days  later  a  wedding  took  place  at  Cana  in  Galilee; 
the  mother  of  Jesus  was  present,   and  Jesus  and  his 

3  disciples  had  also  been  invited  to  the  wedding.  As  the 
wine  ran  short,  the  mother  of  Jesus  said  to  him,  "They 

4  have  no  wine."     "Woman,"  said  Jesus,  "what  have  you  to 

5  do  with  me?    My  time  has  not  come  yet."    His  mother  said 

6  to  the  servants,  "Do  whatever  he  tells  you."  Now  six  stone 
water-jars   were   standing   there,   for   the   Jewish   rites   of 

7  'purification,'  each  holding  about  twenty  gallons.  Jesus 
said,  "Fill  up  the  jars  with  water."    So  they  filled  them  to 

8  the  brim.    Then  he  said,  "Now  draw  some  out,  and  take  it 

9  to  the  manager  of  the  feast."  They  did  so;  and  when  the 
manager  of  the  feast  tasted  the  water  which  had  become 
wine,  not  knowing  where  it  had  come  from    (though  the 

10  servants  who  had  drawn  it  knew),  he  called  the  bride- 
groom and  said  to  him,  "Everybody  serves  the  good  wine 
first,  and  then  the  poorer  wine  after  people  have  drunk 

11  freely;  you  have  kept  the  good  wine  till  now."  Jesus  per- 
formed this,  the  first  of  his  Signs,  at  Cana  in  Galilee,  there- 
by displaying  his  glory;  and  his  disciples  believed  in  him. 

12  After  this  he  travelled  down  to  Capharnahum,  with  his 
*  I  insert  the  word  '  all  ',  to  make  it  clear  that  the  '  you  '  of  ver.  51 

is  plural.      The  promise  is  more  than  a  personal  word  to  Nathanael. 
Omit  [(i""'  Aprt], 


S.  JOHN  II  139 

mother  and  brothers  and  his  disciples;   they  stayed  there 
for  a  few  days.  * 

22  After  this  Jesus  and  his  disciples  went  into  the  country 
of  Judaea,  where  he  spent  some  time  with  them  baptizing. 

23  John  was  also  baptizing  at  Aenon  near  Salim,  as  there 
was  plenty  of  water  there,  and  people  came  to  him  and 

24  were  baptized  (John  had  not  yet  been  thrown  into  prison). 

25  Now  a  dispute  arose  betveen  John's  disciples  and  a  Jew  over 

26  the  question  of  'purification';  and  they  came  and  told  John, 
"Rabbi,  the  man  who  was  with  you  on  the  opposite  side 
of  the  Jordan,  the  man  to  whom  you  bore  testimony — here 

27  he  is,  baptizing,  and  everybody  goes  to  him!"  John  an- 
swered, "No  one  can  receive  anything  except  as  a  gift  from 

28  heaven.  You  can  bear  me  out,  that  I  said,  'I  am  not  the 
Christ';  what  I  said  was,  'I  have  been  sent  in  advance  of 

29  him.'  He  who  has  the  bride  is  the  bridegroom;  the  bride- 
groom's friend,  who  stands  by  and  listens  to  him,  is 
heartily  glad  at  the  sound  of  the  bridegroom's  voice.     Such 

30  is  my  joy,  and  it  is  complete.    He  must  wax,  I  must  wane." 

13  Now  the  Jewish  passover  was  near,  so  Jesus  went  up 

14  to  Jerusalem.  There  he  found,  seated  inside  the  temple, 
dealers  in  cattle,  sheep  and  pigeons,  also  money-changers. 

15  Making  a  scourge  of  cords,  he  drove  them  all,  sheep  and 
cattle  together,  out  of  the  temple,  scattered  the  coins  of  the 

16  brokers  and  upset  their  tables,  and  told  the  pig  ion-dealers, 
"Away  with  these!     My  Father's  house  is  not  to  be  turned 

17  into  a  shop!"     (His  disciples  recalled  the  scripture  saying, 

18  I  am  consumed  with  zeal  for  thy  house.)  Then  the  Jews 
accosted   him   with   the   words,    "What   sign   of   authority 

19  have  you  to  show  us,  for  acting  in  this  way?"  Jesus 
replied,  "Destroy  this  sanctuary  and  I  will  raise  it  up  in 

20  three  days,"  "This  sanctuary  took  forty-six  years  to  build," 
the  Jews  retorted,  "and  you  are  going  to  raise  it  up  in 

21  three  days!"     He  meant  the  sanctuary  of  his  body,  how- 

22  ever,  and  when  the  disciples  recalled  what  he  had  said, 
after  he  had  been  raised  from  the  dead,  they  believed  the 
scripture  and  the  word  of  Jesus. 

23  When  he  was  in  Jerusalem  at  the  festival  of  the  pass- 
over,  many  people  believed  in  his  name,  as  they  witnessed 

24  the  Signs  which  he  performed.    Jesus,  however,  would  not 

25  trust  t  himself  to  them;  he  knew  all  men,  and  required  no 
evidence  from  anyone  about  human  nature;  well  did  he 
know  what  was  in  human  nature. 

*  Transposing  iii.  22-30  to  its  true  position  between  ii.  12  and  ii.  13. 

t  The  Vulgate  is  able  to  preserve  the  assonance  of  the  word  '  trust ' 
here  and  '  believe  '  in  ver.  23:  "  multi  crediderunt  in  nomine  eius.  .  .  . 
lesus  non  credebat  semet  ipsum  eis." 


14a  S.  JOHN  III 

3  Now  there  was  a  Pharisee  named  Nicodemus,  who 
belonged  to  the  Jewish  authorities;  he  came  one  night 
to  Jesus  and  said,  "Rabbi,  we  know  you  have  come  from 
God  to  teach  us,  for  no  one  could  perform  these  Signs  of 

3  yours  unless  God  were  with  him."  Jesus  replied,  "Truly, 
truly  I  tell  you,  no  one  can  see  God's  Realm  unless  he  is 

4  born  from  above."  Nicodemus  said  to  him,  "How  can  a 
man  be  born  when  he  is  old?     Can  he  enter  his  mother's 

5  womb  over  again  and  be  born?"  Jesus  replied,  "Truly,  truly  I 
tell  you,  unless  one  is  born  of  water  and  the  Spirit,  he 

6  cannot  enter  God's  Realm.     What  is  born  of  the  flesh  is 

7  flesh:  what  is  born  of  the  Spirit  is  Spirit.     Do  not  wonder 

8  at  me  telling  you,  'You  must  all  be  born  from  above.'  The 
wind  blows  where  it  wills;  you  can  hear  its  sound,  but 
you  never  know  where  it  has  come  from  or  where  it  goes: 
it  is  the  same  with  everyone  who  is  born  of  the  Spirit." 

9  Nicodemus  answered,  "How  can  that  be?"     Jesus  replied, 

10  "You   do  not  understand  this? — you,  a  teacher  in  Israel! 

11  Truly,  truly  I  tell  you,  we  are  speaking  of  what  we  do 
understand,  we  testify  to  what  we  have  actually  seen — and 

12  yet  you  refuse  our  testimony.  If  you  will  not  believe  when 
I  speak  to  you  about  things  on  earth,  how  will  you  believe 

13  if  I  speak  to  you  about  things  in  heaven?  And  yet  the 
Son  of  man,  descended  from  heaven,  is  the  only  one  who 

14  has  ever  ascended  into  heaven.  Indeed  the  Son  of  man 
must  be  lifted  on  high,  just  as  Moses  lifted  up  the  serpent 

15  in  the  desert,  that  everyone  who  believes  in  him  may  have 

16  eternal  life.  For  God  loved  the  world  so  dearly  that  he 
gave  up  his  only  Son,  so  that  everyone  who  believes  in  him 

17  may  have  eternal  life,  instead  of  perishing.  God  did  not 
send  his  Son  into  the  world  to  pass  sentence  on   it,  but 

18  to  save  the  world  by  him.  He  who  believes  in  him  is  not 
sentenced;  he  who  will  not  believe  is  sentenced  already, 
for  having  refused  to  believe  in  the  name  of  the  only  Son 

19  of  God.  And  this  is  the  sentence  of  condemnation,  that 
the  Light  has  entered  the  world  and  yet  men  have  pre- 
ferred darkness  to  light.     It  is  because  their  actions  have 

20  been  evil;  for  anyone  whose  practices  are  corrupt  loathes 
the  light  and  will  not  come  out  into  it,  in  case  his  actions 

21  are  exposed,  whereas  anyone  whose  life  is  true  comes  out 
into  the  light,  to  make  it  plain  that  his  actions  have  been 
divinely  prompted. 

31  He  who  comes  from  above  is  far  above  all  others;  he  who 
springs  from  earth  belongs  to  earth  and  speaks  of  earth; 

32  he  who  comes  from  heaven  [is  far  above  all  others.  He] 
is  testifying  to  what  he  has  seen  and  heard,  and  yet  no 

33  one  accepts  his  testimony.     Whoever  does  accept  it,  certi- 

34  fies  to  the  truth  of  God.    For  he  whom  God  has  sent  utters 


S.  JOHN  IV  141 

the  words  of  God — God  gives  him  the  Spirit  in  no  sparing 

35  measure;    the   Father  loves   the   Son  and   has  given  him 

36  control  over  everything.  He  who  believes  in  the  Son  has 
eternal  life,  but  he^  who  disobeys  the  Son  shall  not  see 
life — God's  anger  broods  over  him." 

4  Now  when  the  Lord  learned   that  the   Pharisees  had 
heard   of   Jesus   gaining  and  baptizing  more    disciples 

2  than  John   (though  Jesus  himself  did  not  baptize,  it  was 

3  his  disciples),  he  left  Judaea  and  went  back  to  Galilee. 

4  He   had   to    pass   through    Samaria,    and   in   so    doing   he 
^  arrived  at  a  Samaritan  town  called  Sychar;  it  lay  near  the 

6  territory  which  Jacob  had  given  to  his  son  Joseph,  and 
Jacob's  spring  was  there.  Jesus,  exhausted  by  the  journey, 
sat  down  at  the  spring,  just  as  he  was.    It  was  about  noon, 

7  and  a  Samaritan  woman  came  to  draw  water.     Jesus  said 

8  to  her,  "Give  me  a  drink"   (his  disciples  had  gone  to  the 

9  town  to  buy  some  food).  The  Samaritan  woman  said, 
"What?  You*  are  a  Jew,  and  you  ask  me  for  a  drink — me, 
a  Samaritan!"    (Jews  do  not  associate  with  Samaritans.) 

10  Jesus  answered,  "If  you  knew  what  is  the  free  gift  of  God 
and  who  is  asking  you  for  a  drink,  you  would  have  asked 
him  instead,  and  he  would  have  given  you  'living'  water." 

11  "Sir,"  said  the  woman,  "you  have  nothing  to  draw  water 
with,  and  it  is  a  deep  well;  where  do  you  get  your  'living' 

12  water?  Are  you  a  greater  man  than  Jacob,  our  ancestor? 
He  gave  us  this  well,  and  he  drank  from  it,  with  his  sons 

13  and  his  cattle."    Jesus  answered,  "Anyone  who  drinks  this 

14  water  will  be  thirsty  again,  but  anyone  who  drinks  the 
water  I  shall  give  him  will  never  thirst  any  more;  the 
water  I  shall  give  him  will  turn  into  a  spring  of  water 

15  welling  up  to  eternal  life."  "Ah,  sir,"  said  the  woman, 
"give  me  this  water,  so  that  I  need  not  thirst  or  come  all 

16  this  road  to  draw  water."    Jesus  said  to  her,  "Go  and  call 

17  your  husband,  then  come  back  here."  The  woman  replied, 
"I  have  no  husband."     Jesus  said  to  her,  "You  were  right 

18  in  saying,  'I  have  no  husband';  you  have  had  five  husbands, 
and  he  whom  you  have  now  espoused  is  not  your  husband. 

19  That  was  a  true  word."     "Sir,"  said  the  woman,   "I   see 

20  you  are  a  prophet.  Now  our  ancestors  worshipped  on  this 
mountain,  whereas  you  Jews  declare  the  proper  place  for 

21  worship  is  at  Jerusalem,"  "Woman,"  said  Jesus,  "believe 
me,  the  time  is  coming  when  you  will  be  worshipping  the 

22  Father  neither  on  this  mountain  nor  at  Jerusalem.     You 

*  The  Greek  word  for  '  you  '  (in  the  singular)  occurs  oftener  in  the 
Fourth  gospel  than  in  all  the  first  three  gospels  put  together.  Dr. 
E.  A.  Abbott  regards  this  as  an  indication  of  the  evangelist's  tendency 
'to  lay  stress  on  personality,  and  to  express  personahty  in  dialogue.' 


142  S.  JOHN  IV 

are  worshipping  something  you  do  not  know;  we  are  wor- 
shipping, what  we  do  know — for  salvation  comes  from  the 

23  Jews.  But  the  time  is  coming,  it  has  come  already,  when 
the  real  worshippers  will  worship  the  Father  in  Spirit  and 
in  reality;   for  these  are  the  worshippers  that  the  Father 

24  wants.     God  is  Spirit,  and  his  worshippers  must  worship 

25  him  in  Spirit  and  in  reality."  The  woman  said  to  him, 
"Well,  I  know  messiah    (which  means  Christ)    is  coming. 

26  When  he  arrives,  he  will  explain  it  all  to  us."  "I  am 
messiah,"  said  Jesus,  "I  who  am  talking  to  you." 

27  At  this  point  his  disciples  came  up;  they  were  surprised 
that  he  was  talking  to  a  woman,  but  none  of  them  said, 

28  "What  is  it?"  or,  "Why  are  you  talking  to  her?"  Then 
the  woman  left  her  water-pot,  and  going  off  to  the  town  told 

29  the  people,  "Come  here,  look  at  a  man  who  has  told  me 

30  everything   I   ever   did!      Can  he  be   the   Christ?"     They 

31  set  out  from  the  town  on  their  way  to  him.    Meanwhile  the 

32  disciples  pressed  him,  saying,  "Rabbi,  eat  something."  But 
he  said  to  them,  "I  have  food,  of  which  you  know  nothing." 

33  So    the    disciples    asked    each    other,    "Can    anyone    have 

34  brought  him  something  to  eat?"  Jesus  said,  "My  food  is 
to  do  the  will  of  him  who  sent  me,  and  to  accomplish  his 

35  work.  You  have  a  saying,  have  you  not,  'Four  months  yet, 
then  harvest'?    Look  round,  I  tell  you;  see,  the  fields  are 

36  white  for  harvesting!  The  reaper  is  already  getting  his 
wages  and  harvesting  for  eternal  life,  so  that  the  sower 

37  shares  the  reaper's  joy.     That  proverb,  'One  sows  and  an- 

38  other  reaps,'  holds  true  here:  I  sent  you  to  reap  a  crop 
for  which  you  did  not  toil;  other  men  have  toiled,  and  you 

39  reap  the  profit  of  their  toil."  Now  many  Samaritans 
belonging  to  that  town  believed  in  him  on  account  of  the 
woman's  testimony,  "He  told  me  everything  I  ever  did." 

40  So  when  the  Samaritans  arrived,  they  pressed  him  to  stay 

41  with  them;   he  did  stay  there  two  days,  and  far  more  of 

42  them  believed  on  account  of  what  he  said  himself.  As  they 
told  the  woman,  "We  no  longer  believe  on  account  of  what 
you  said;  we  have  heard  for  ourselves,  we  know  that  he 
is  really  the  Saviour  of  the  world." 

43  When    the    two    days    were    over,    he    left    for    Galilee 

44  (for  Jesus  himself  testified  that  a  prophet  enjoys  no  honour 

45  in  his  own  country) ;  on  reaching  Galilee,  he  was  welcomed 
by  the  Galileans,  who  had  seen  all  he  did  at  the  festival 
in  Jerusalem — for  they  too  had  gone  to  the  festival. 

46  Once  more  he  came  to  Cana  in  Galilee,  where  he  had 
turned  the  water  into  wine.     There  was  a  royal  official, 

47  whose  son  was  lying  ill  at  Capernaum;  when  he  heard  that 
Jesus  had  arrived  in  Galilee  from  Judaea,  he  went 
to   him   and    begged   him    to    come    down   and   cure   his 


S.  JOHN  V  143 

48  son,  who  was  at  the  point  of  death.  Jesus  said  to 
him,   "Unless    you    see    signs    and    wonders,   you    never 

49  will  believe."     The  oflBcial  said,  "Come  down,  sir,  before 

50  my  boy  is  dead."  Jesus  told  him,  "Go  yourself,  your  son 
is  alive."     The  man  believed  what  Jesus  told  him,  and 

51  started  on  his  journey.    And  on  the  road  his  servants  met 

52  him  with  the  news  that  his  boy  was  alive.  So  he  asked 
them  at  what  hour  he  had  begun  to  improve;   they  told 

53  him,  "Yesterday  at  one  o'clock  the  fever  left  him."  Then 
the  father  realized  that  it  had  left  him  at  the  very  time 
when  Jesus  had  said  to  him,  "Your  son  is  alive";  and  he 

54  became  a  believer  with  all  his  household.  This  was  the 
second  Sign  which  Jesus  performed  again  after  leaving 
Judaea  for  Galilee. 


5 


After  this  there  was  a  festival  of  the  Jews,  and  Jesus 
went  up  to  Jerusalem.     Now  in  Jerusalem  there  is  a 
bath  beside  the  sheep-pool,  which  is  called  in  Hebrew  Beth- 

3  zatha;  it  has  five  porticoes,  where  a  crowd  of  invalids  used 
to  lie,  the  blind,  the  lame,  and  folk  with  shrivelled  limbs 

4  [waiting  for  the  water  to  bubble.  For  an  angel  used  to 
descend  from  time  to  time  into  the  bath,  and  disturb  the 
water;  whereupon  the  first  person  who  stepped  in  after 
the  water  was  disturbed  was  restored  to  health,  no  matter 

5  what  disease  he  had  been  afflicted  with].*  Now  one  man 
was    there,    whose    illness    had    lasted    thirty-eight    years. 

6  Jesus  saw  him  lying,  and  knowing  he  had  been  ill  for  a 
long  while   he   said  to   him,    "Do   you   want  your   health 

7  restored?"  The  invalid  replied,  "Sir,  I  have  nobody  to  put 
me  into  the  bath,  when  the  water  is  disturbed;  and  while 
I   am  getting   down  myself,   someone  else  gets   in  before 

8  me."    Jesus  said  to  him,  "Get  up,  lift  your  mat,  and  walk." 

9  And  instantly  the  man  got  well,  lifted  his  mat,  and  started 
to  walk. 

10  Now  it  was  the  sabbath  on  that  day.  So  the  Jews  said 
to  the  man  who  had  been  cured,  "This  is  the  sabbath,  you 

11  have  no  right  to  be  carrying  your  mat."  He  replied,  "But 
the  man  who  healed  me,  he  told  me,  'Lift  your  mat  and 

12  walk'."     They  questioned  him,  "Who  was  it  that  told  you, 

13  'Lift  it  and  walk'?"  Now  the  man  who  had  been  healed 
did  not  know  who  it  was,  for  (owing  to  the  crowd  on  the 

14  spot)  Jesus  had  slipped  away.  Later  on  Jesus  met  him  in 
the  temple,  and  said  to  him,  "See,  you  are  well  and  strong; 
commit  no  more  sins,  in  case  something  worse  befalls  you." 

15  Off  went  the  man  and  told  the  Jews  it  was  Jesus  who  had 

*  The  words  in  brackets,  omitted  by  von  Soden,  represent  a  pas- 
sage which  is  absent  from  many  important  versions  and  manuscripts. 


144  S.  JOHN  V 

16  healed  him.    And  this  was  why  the  Jews  persecuted  Jesus, 

17  because  he  did  things  like  this  on  the  sabbath.  The  reply 
of  Jesus  was,  "As  my  Father  has  continued  working  to 

18  this  hour,  so  I  work  too."  But  this  only  made  the  Jews 
more  eager  to  kill  him,  because  he  not  merely  broke  the 
sabbath   but   actually   spoke   of   God   as   his   own   Father, 

19  thereby  making  himself  equal  to  God.  So  Jesus  made  this 
answer  to  them:  "Truly,  truly  I  tell  you,  the  Son  can  do 
nothing  of  his  own  accord,  nothing  but  what  he  sees  the 
Father  doing;  for  whatever  he  does,  the  Son  also  does  the 

20  same.  The  Father  loves  the  Son  and  shows  him  all  that 
he  is  doing  himself.     He  will  show  him  still  greater  deeds 

21  than  these,  to  make  you  wonder;  for  as  the  Father  raises 
the  dead  and  makes  them  live,  so  the  Son  makes  anyone 

22  live  whom  he  chooses.  Indeed  the  Father  passes  judgment 
on  no  one;   he  has  committed  the  judgment  which  deter- 

23  mines  life  or  death  entirely  to  the  Son,  that  all  men  may 
honour  the  Son  as  they  honour  the  Father.  (He  who  does 
not  honour  the  Son  does  not  honour  the  Father  who  sent 

24  him.)  Truly,  truly  I  tell  you,  he  who  listens  to  my  word 
and  believes  him  who  sent  me  has  eternal  life;  he  will 
incur  no  sentence  of  judgment,  he  has  already  passed  from 

25  death  across  to  life.  Truly,  truly  I  tell  you,  the  time  is 
coming,  it  has  come  already,  when  the  dead  will  listen 
to  the  voice  of  the  Son  of  God,  and  those  who  listen  will 

26  live;   for  as  the  Father  has  life  in  himself,  so  too  he  has 

27  granted  the  Son  to  have  life  in  himself,  and  also  granted 

28  him  authority  to  act  as  judge,  since  he  is  Son  of  man.  Do 
not  wonder  at  this;   for  there  is  a  time  coming  when  all 

29  who  are  in  the  tombs  will  listen  to  his  voice  and  come  out, 
the  doers  of  good  to  be  raised  to  life,  ill-doers  to  be  raised 
for  the  sentence  of  judgment. 

30  I  can  do  nothing  of  my  own  accord;  I  pass  judgment 
on  men  as  I  am  taught  by  God,  and  my  judgment  is  just, 
because  my  aim  is  not  my  own  will  but  the  will  of  him 

31  who  sent  me.     If  I  testify  to  myself,  then  my  evidence  is 

32  not  valid;   I  have  Another  to  bear  testimony  to  me,  and  I 

33  know  the  evidence  he  bears  for  me  is  valid.     You  sent  to 

34  John,  and  he  bore  testimony  to  the  truth  (though  I  accept 
no  testimony  from  man — I  only  speak  of  this  testimony, 

35  that  you  may  be  saved) ;  he  was  a  burning  and  a  shining 
lamp,  and  you  chose  to  rejoice  for  a  while  in  his  light. 

36  But  I  possess  a  testimony  greater  than  that  of  John,  for 
the  deeds  which  the  Father  has  granted  me  to  accomplish, 
the  very  deeds  on  which  I  am  engaged,  are  my  testimony 

37  that  the  Father  has  sent  me.  The  Father  who  sent  me  has 
also  borne  testimony  to  me  himself;  but  his  voice  you  have 

38  never  heard,  his  form  you  have  never  seen,  his  word  you 


S.  JOHN  VI  145 

have  not  kept  with  you,  because  you  do  not  believe  him 

39  whom  he  sent.     You  search  the  scriptures,  imagining  you 

40  possess  eternal  life  in  their  pages — and  they  do  testify  to 

41  me — but  you  refuse  to  come  to  me  for  life.     I  accept  no 

42  credit  from  men,  but  I  know  there  is  no  love  to  God  in  you ; 

43  here  am  I,  come  in  the  name  of  my  Father,  and  you  will 
not  accept  me:    let  someone  else  come  in  his  own  name, 

44  and  you  will  accept  him!  How  can  you  believe,  you  who 
accept  credit  from  one  another  instead  of  aiming  at  the 

45  credit  which  comes  from  the  only  God?  Do  not  imagine 
I  am  going  to  accuse  you  to  the  Father;    Moses  is  your 

46  accuser,  Moses  who  is  your  hope!  For  if  you  believed 
Moses  you  would  believe  me,  since  it  was  of  me  that  he 

47  wrote.  But  if  you  do  not  believe  what  he  wrote,  how  will 
you  ever  believe  what  I  say?" 

15  The    Jews    were    amazed,    saying,    "How    can    this    un- 

16  educated  fellow  manage  to  read?"  Jesus  told  them  in 
reply,  "My  teaching  is  not  my  own  but  his  who  sent  me; 

17  anyone  who  chooses  to  do  his  will,  shall  understand 
whether  my  teaching  comes  from  God  or  whether  I  am 

18  talking  on  my  own  authority.  He  who  talks  on  his  own 
authority  aims  at  his  own  credit,  but  he  who  aims  at  the 
credit  of  the  person  who  sent  him,  he  is  sincere,  and  there 

19  is  no  dishonesty  in  him.  Did  not  Moses  give  you  the  Law? 
— and  yet  none  of  you  honestly  obeys  the  Law.    Else,  why 

20  do  you  want  to  kill  me?"     The  crowd  replied,  "You  are 

21  mad.  Who  wants  to  kill  you?"  Jesus  answered  them,  "I 
have  only  performed  one  deed,  and  yet  you  are  all  amazed 

22  at  it.  Moses  gave  you  the  rite  of  circumcision  (not  that 
it  came  from  Moses,  it  came  from  your  ancestors),  and 

23  you  will  circumcise  a  man  upon  the  sabbath.  Well,  if  a 
man  gets  circumcised  upon  the  sabbath,  to  avoid  breaking 
the  Law  of  Moses,  are  you  enraged  at  me  for  curing,  not 

24  cutting,  the  entire  body  of  a  man  upon  the  sabbath?  Give 
over  judging  by  appearances;  be  just."* 

6  After  this  Jesus  went  off  to  the  opposite  side  of  the  sea 
of  Galilee   (the  lake  of  Tiberias),  followed  by  a  large 
crowd  on  account  of  the  Signs  which  they  had  seen  him  per- 

3  form  on  sick  folk.     Now  Jesus  went  up  the  hill  and  sat 

4  down  there  with  his  disciples.     (The  passover,  the  Jewish 

5  festival,  was  at  hand.)    On  looking  up  and  seeing  a  large 
crowd  approaching,  he  said  to  Philip,  "Where  are  we  to 

6  buy  bread  for  all  these  people  to  eat?"     (He  said  this  to 
test  Philip,  for  he  knew  what  he  was  going  to  do  himself.) 

7  Philip   answered,    "Seven   pounds'   worth   of   bread   would 

*  Restoring  vii.  15-24  to  this,  its  original  position  in  the  gospel. 


146  S.  JOHN  VI 

not   be   enough   for   them,   for  everybody   to   get   even   a 

8  morsel."    One  of  his  disciples,  Andrew  the  brother  of  Simon 

9  Peter,   said   to   him,   "There   is  a  servant   here,   with   five 
barley-cakes  and  a  couple  of  fish;  but  what  is  that  among 

10  so  many?"  Jesus  said,  "Get  the  people  to  lie  down."  Now 
there  was  plenty  of  grass  at  the  spot,  so  the  men  lay  down, 

11  numbering  about  five  thousand.  Then  Jesus  took  the 
loaves,  gave  thanks  to  God,  and  distributed  them  to  those 
who  were  reclining;  so  too  with  the  fish,  as  much  as  they 

12  wanted.  And  when  they  were  satisfied,  he  said  to  the 
disciples,  "Gather  up  the  pieces  left  over,  so  that  nothing 

13  may  be  wasted."  They  gathered  them  up,  and  filled  twelve 
baskets  with  pieces  of  the  five  loaves  left  over  from  the 

14  meal.  Now  when  the  people  saw  the  Sign  he  had  performed, 
they  said,  "This  really  is  the  Prophet  who  is  to  come  into 

15  the  world!"  Whereupon  Jesus  perceived  they  meant  to 
come  and  seize  him  to  make  a  king  of  him;  so  he  with- 
drew by  himself  to  the  hill  again. 

16  When  evening  came,  his  disciples  went  down  to  the  sea, 

17  and  embarking  in  a  boat  they  started  across  the  sea  for 
Capharnahum.     By  this  time  it  was  dark,  Jesus  had  not 

18  reached   them  yet,   and   the   sea  was  getting   up   under  a 

19  strong  wind.  After  rowing  about  three  or  four  miles  they 
saw  Jesus  walking  on  the  sea  and  nearing  the  boat.     They 

20  were  terrified,  but  he  said  to  them,  "It  is  I,  have  no  fear"; 

21  so  they  agreed  to  take  him  on  board,  and  the  boat  instantly 
reached  the  land  they  were  making  for. 

22  Next  day  the  crowd  which  had  been  left  standing  on 
the  other  side  of  the  sea  bethought  them  that  only  one  boat 
had  been  there,  and  that  Jesus  had  not  gone  aboard  with 

23  his  disciples,  who  had  left  by  themselves.  So,  as  some 
boats  from  Tiberias  had  put  in  near  the  spot  where  they 

24  had  eaten  bread  after  the  Lord's  thanksgiving,  and  as  the 
crowd  saw  that  neither  Jesus  nor  his  disciples  were  there, 
they   embarked    in    the   boats    themselves    and    made    for 

25  Capharnahum  in  search  of  Jesus.  When  they  found  him 
on  the  other  side  of  the  sea,  they  said,  "Rabbi,  when  did 

26  you  get  here?"  Jesus  answered  them,  "Truly,  truly  I  tell 
you,  it  is  not  because  you  saw  Signs  that  you  are  in  quest 
of  me,  but  because  you  ate  these  loaves  and  had  your  fill. 

27  Work  for  no  perishing  food,  but  for  that  lasting  food  which 
means  eternal  life;    the  Son  of  man  will  give  you  that, 

28  for  the  Father,  God,  has  certified  him."  Then  they  asked 
him,  "What  must  we  do  to  perform  the  works  of  God?" 

29  Jesus  replied  to  them,  "This  is  the  work  of  God,  to  believe 

30  in  him  whom  God  has  sent."  "Well  then,"  they  said,  "what 
is  the  Sign  you  perform,  that  we  may  see  it  and  believe 

31  you?     What  work  have  you  to  show?     Our  ancestors  ate 


S.  JOHN  VI  147 

manna  in  the  desert:  as  it  is  written,  He  gave  them  hread 

32  from  heaven  to  eat."  Then  said  Jesus,  "What  Moses  gave 
you  was  not  the  bread  from  heaven;  it  is  my  Father  who 

33  gives  you  the  real  bread  from  heaven — for  the  bread  of  God 
is  what  comes  down  from  heaven   and  gives   life  to  the 

34  world."     "Ah,  sir,"  they  said  to  him,  "give  us  that  bread 

35  always."  Jesus  said,  "I  am  the  bread  of  life;  he  who 
comes  to  me  will  never  be  hungry,  and  he  who  believes  in 

36  me  will  never  be  thirsty  again.     But,  as  I  told  you,  though 

37  you  have  seen  me,  you  do  not  believe.  All  those  will  come 
to  me  who  are  the  Father's  gift  to  me,  and  never  will  I 

38  reject  one  of  them;  for  I  have  come  down  from  heaven 
not  to  carry  out  my  own  will  but  the  will  of  him  who 

39  sent  me,  and  the  will  of  him  who  sent  me  is  that  I  lose 
none  of  those  who  are  his  gift  to  me,  but  that  I  raise  them 

40  all  up  on  the  last  day.  It  is  the  will  of  my  Father  that 
everyone  who  sees  the  Son  and  believes  in  him  should 
possess  eternal  life,  and  that  I  should  raise  him  up  on 
the  last  day." 

41  Now  the  Jews  murmured  at  him  for  saying,  "I  am  the 

42  bread  which  has  come  down  from  heaven."  They  said,  "Is 
this  not  Jesus  the  son  of  Joseph?  We  know  his  father 
and  mother.     How  can  he  claim  now,  'I  have  come  down 

43  from   heaven'?"     Jesus    replied   to   them,    "Stop    murmur- 

44  ing  to  yourselves.  No  one  is  able  to  come  to  me  unless 
he  is  drawn  by  the  Father  who  sent  me   (and  I  will  raise 

45  him  up  on  the  last  day).  In  the  prophets  it  is  written, 
and  they  ivill  he  all  instructed  by  God;  everyone  who  has 
listened  to  the  Father  and  learned  from  him,  comes  to  me. 

46  Not   that   anyone   has   seen   the  Father — he   only,   who   is 

47  from  God,  he  has  seen  the  Father.    Truly,  truly  I  tell  you, 

48  the   believer   has    eternal    life.      I    am    the   bread    of    life. 

49  Your  ancestors  ate  manna  in  the   desert,  but  they  died; 

50  the  bread  that  comes  down  from  heaven  is  such  that  one 

51  eats  of  it  and  never  dies.  I  am  the  living  bread  which 
has  come  down  from  heaven;  if  anyone  eats  of  this  bread, 
he  will  live  for  ever;  and  more,  the  bread  I  will  give  is 
my  flesh,  given  for  the  life  of  the  world." 

52  The  Jews  then  wrangled  with  one  another,  saying,  "How 
^3  can  he  give  us  his  flesh  to  eat?"     So  Jesus  said  to  them, 

"Truly,  truly  I  tell  you,  unless  you  eat  the  flesh  of  the  Son 
of  man  and  drink  his  blood,  you  have  no  life  within  you. 

54  He  who  feeds  on  my  flesh  and  drinks  my  blood  possesses 

55  eternal  life  (and  I  will  raise  him  up  on  the  last  day),  for 

56  my  flesh  is  real  food  and  my  blood  is  real  drink.  He 
who  feeds  on  my  flesh  and  drinks  my  blood  remains  within 

57  me,  as  I  remain  within  him.  Just  as  the  living  Father 
sent  me  and  I  live  by  the  Father,  so  he  who  feeds  on  me 


148  S.  JOHN  VII 

58  will  also  live  by  me.  Such  is  the  bread  which  has  come 
down  from  heaven:  your  ancestors  ate  their  bread  and 
died,  but  he  who  feeds  on  this  bread  will  live  for  ever." 

59  This  he  said  as  he  taught  in  the  synagogue  at  Caphar- 
nahum. 

60  Now  many  of  his  disciples,  on  hearing  it,  said,  "This 
is  hard  to  take  in!      Who  can  listen  to  talk  like  this?" 

61  Jesus,  inwardly  conscious  that  his  disciples  were  murmur- 

62  ing  at  it,  said  to  them,  "So  this  upsets  you?  Then  what 
if  you  were  to  see  the  Son  of  man  ascending  to  where  he 

63  formerly  existed?  What  gives  life  is  the  Spirit:  flesh  is 
of  no  avail  at  all.     The  words  I  have  uttered  to  you  are 

64  spirit  and  life.  And  yet  there  are  some  of  you  who  do 
not  believe"   (for  Jesus  knew  from  the  very  first  who  the 

65  unbelieving  were,  and  who  was  to  betray  him;  that  was 
why*  he  said  *I  tell  you  that  no  one  is  able  to  come  to  me 
unless  he  is  allowed  by  the  Father'). 

66  After  that,  many  of  his  disciples  drew  back  and  would 

67  not  associate  with  him  any  longer.     So  Jesus  said  to  the 

68  twelve,  "You  do  not  want  to  go,  too?"  Simon  Peter  an- 
swered him,  "Lord,  who  are  we  to  go  to?     You  have  got 

69  words  of  eternal  life,  and  we  believe,  we  are  certain,  that 

70  you  are  the  holy  One  of  God."  Jesus  answered  them,  "Did 
I  not  choose  you,  the  twelve?  And  yet  one  of  you  is  a 
devil!" 

71  (He  meant  Judas  the  son  of  Simon  Iscariot;  for  Judas 
was  to  betray  him — and  he  was  one  of  the  twelve.) 

7  After  this  Jesus  moved  about  in  Galilee;  he  would  not 
move  in  Judaea,  because  the  Jews  were  trying  to  kill 
him. 
I      Now   the   Jewish   festival   of   booths   was   near,    so   his 
brothers  said  to  him,  "Leave  this  and  go  across  into  Judaea, 

4  to  let  your  disciples  witness  what  you  can  do;  for  nobody 
who  aims  at  public  recognition  ever  keeps  his  actions 
secret.     Since  you  can  do  these  deeds,  display  yourself  to 

5  the  world"  (for  even  his  brothers  did  not  believe  in  him). 

6  Jesus  said  to  them,  "My  time  has  not  come  yet,  but  your 

7  time  is  always  at  hand;  the  world  cannot  hate  you,  but  it 

8  hates  me  because  I  testify  that  its  deeds  are  evil.  Go  up 
to  the  festival  yourselves;  I  am  not  going  up  to  this  festi- 

9  val,  for  my  time  has  not  arrived  yet."    So  saying  he  stayed 

10  on  in  Galilee.  But  after  his  brothers  had  gone  up  to  the 
festival,    he    went    up    too,    not    publicly    but    as    it    were 

11  privately.     At  the  festival  the  Jews  were  in  quest  of  him, 

*  Reading  Slcl  toDto  eXeyev,  with  e  (so  Blass  and  Merx).  instead  of 
eXe7ei'  5ia  toOto. 


S.  JOHN  VII  149 

12  saying,  "Where  is  he?"  And  the  crowd  disputed  about  him 
hotly;    some  said,   "He  is  a  good   man,"  but  others  said, 

13  "No,  he  is  misleading  the  people."  For  fear  of  the  Jews, 
however,  nobody  spoke  of  him  in  public. 

14  When  the  festival  was  half  over,  Jesus  went  up  to  the 

25  temple  and  began  to  teach.*    Then  said  some  of  the  Jeru- 

26  salemites,  "Is  this  not  the  man  they  want  to  kill?  Yet 
here  he  is,  opening  his  lips  in  public,  and  they  say  nothing 
to  him!     Can  the  authorities  have  really  discovered  that 

27  he  is  the  Christ?  No,  we  know  where  this  man  comes 
from;   but  when  the  Christ  does  come,  no  one  will  know 

28  where  he  comes  from."  So  Jesus  cried  aloud,  as  he  was 
teaching  in  the  temple,  "You  know  me?  you  know  where 
I  come  from?  But  I  have  not  com.e  on  my  own  initiative; 
I   am  sent,  and   sent  by  Him  who   is   real.     You  do   not 

29  know  Him,  but  I  know  Him,  because  I  have  come  from 

30  Him  and  He  sent  me."  So  they  tried  to  arrest  him;  but 
no  one  laid  hands  on  him,  because  his  time  had  not  come 

31  yet.  Indeed  many  of  the  people  believed  in  him,  saying, 
"When  the  Christ  does  come,  will  he  perform  more  Signs 

32  than  this  man?"  The  Pharisees  heard  the  people  discuss- 
ing Jesus  in  this  way,  so  the  high  priests  and  the  Pharisees 

33  despatched  attendants  to  arrest  him.  Then  said  Jesus,  "I 
will  be  with  you  a  little  longer,  then  I  go  to  Him  who 

34  sent  me;  you  will  search  for  me  but  you  will  not  find  me, 

35  and  where  I  go,  you  cannot  come."  The  Jews  said  to 
themselves,  "Where  is  he  going,  that  we  will  not  find  him? 
Is  he  off  to  the  Dispersion  among  the  Greeks,  to  teach  the 

36  Greeks?  What  does  he  mean  by  saying,  'You  will  search 
for  me  but  you  will  not  find  me,  and  where  I  go,  you 
cannot  come'?" 

37  Now  on  the  last  day,  the  great  day,  of  the  festival,  Jesus 
stood  and  cried  aloud,  "If  anyone  is  athirst,  let  him  come 

38  to  me  and  drink;  he  who  believes  in  me — out  of  his  body, 

39  as  scripture  says,  streams  of  living  water  will  flow"  (he 
meant  by  this  the  Spirit  which  those  who  believed  in  him 
were    to    receive: — as    yet    there    was    no    Spirit,    because 

40  Jesus  had  not  been  glorified  yet).  On  hearing  this  some 
of  the  people  said,   "This  really  is  the  Prophet";    others 

41  said,  "He  is  the  Christ";   but  others  said,  "No,  surely  the 

42  Christ  does  not  come  from  Galilee?  Does  not  scripture 
say  it  is  from  the  offspring  of  David,  from  David's  village 

43  of  Bethlehem,  that  the  Christ  is  to  come?"     So  the  people 

44  were  divided  over  him;    some  wanted  to  arrest  him,  but 

45  no  one  laid  hands  on  him.  Then  the  attendants  went  back 
to  the  high  priests  and  Pharisees,  who  asked  them,  "Why 

*  See  note,  p.  145. 


150  S.  JOHN  VIII 

46  have  you   not   brought   him   with   you?"     The   attendants 

47  replied,  "No  man  ever  spoke  as  he  does."     The  Pharisees 

48  retorted,  "Are  you  misled  as  well?     Have  any  of  the  au- 

49  thorities  or  of  the  Pharisees  believed  in  him?     As  for  this 

50  mob,  with  its  ignorance  of  the  Law — it  is  accursed!"  Nico- 
demus,  one  of  their  number   (the  same  who  had  come  to 

51  him  before),  said  to  them,  "But  surely  our  Law  does  not 
condemn  the  accused  before  hearing  what  he  has  to  say 

52  and  ascertaining  his  offence?"  They  answered  him,  "And 
are  you  from  Galilee,  too?  Search  and  you  will  see  that  no 
prophet  ever  springs  from  Galilee." 

53  Q   [And  every  one  of  them  went  home,  but  Jesus  went  to 

2  ^  the  Hill  of  Olives.  Early  in  the  morning  he  returned  to 
the  temple,  the  people  all  came  to  him,  and  he  sat  down 

3  and  taught  them.  The  scribes  and  Pharisees  brought  a 
woman   who   had   been   caught   in   the   act   of   committing 

4  adultery,  and  making  her  stand  forward  they  said  to  him, 
"Teacher,  this  woman  was  caught  in  the  very  act  of  com- 

5  mitting  adultery.     Now  Moses  has  commanded  us  in  the 

6  Law  to  stone  such  creatures;  but  what  do  you  say?"  (They 
said  this  to  test  him,  in  order  to  get  a  charge  against  him.) 
Jesus  stooped  down,  and  began  to  write  with  his   finger 

7  on  the  ground;  but  as  they  persisted  with  their  question, 
he   raised   himself   and    said   to   them,   "Let   the   innocent 

8  among    you    throw    the    first    stone    at    her";     then    he 

9  stooped  down  again  ond  wrote  on  the  ground.  And  on 
hearing  what  he  said,  they  went  away  one  by  one,  begin- 
ning with  the  older  men,  till  Jesus  was  left  alone  with  the 

10  woman  standing  before  him.  Looking  up,  Jesus  said  to 
her,   "Woman,  where   are  they?     Has   no   one   condemned 

11  you?"  She  said,  "No  one,  sir."  Jesus  said,  "Neither  do 
I;  be  off,  and  never  sin  again."]* 

12  Then  Jesus  again  addressed  them,  saying,  "I  am  the 
light  of  the  world:    he  who  follows  me  will  not  walk  in 

13  darkness,  he  will  enjoy  the  light  of  life."  So  the  Pharisees 
said  to  him,  "You  are  testifying  to  yourself;  your  evidence 

14  is  not  valid."  Jesus  replied  to  them,  "Though  I  do  testify 
to  myself,  my  evidence  is  valid,  because  I  know  where  I 
have  come  from  and  where  I  am  going  to — whereas  you  do 
not  know  where  I  have  come  from  or  where  I  am  going  to. 

Jl  You  judge  by  the  outside.  I  judge  no  one;  and  though 
I  do  judge,  my  judgment  is  true,  because  I  am  not  by  my- 

17  self — there  is  myself  and  the  Father  who  sent  me.  Why, 
it  is  written  in  your  own  Law  that  the  evidence  of  two 

18  persons  is  valid:   I  testify  to  myself,  and  the  Father  who 

*  It  is  uncertain  to  which,  if  any,  of  the  canonical  gospels  this  frag- 
ment of  primitive  tradition  originally  belonged. 


S.  JOHN  VIII  151 

19  sent  me  also  testifies  to  me."  "Where  is  your  Father?" 
they  said.  Jesus  replied,  "You  know  neither  me  nor  my 
Father;  if  you  had  known  me  you  would  have  known  my 

20  Father  also."  These  words  he  spoke  in  the  treasury,  as 
he  was  teaching  in  the  temple,  but  no  one  arrested  him, 
because  his  time  had  not  come  yet. 

21  Then  he  said  to  them  again,  "I  go  away,  and  you  will 
search  for  me,  but  you  will  die  in  your  sin;   where  I  go, 

22  you  cannot  come."  So  the  Jews  said,  "Will  he  kill  himself? 
Is   that   why   he   says,   'Where    I   go,   you   cannot   come'?" 

23  He  said  to  them,  "You  are  from  the  world  below,  I  am 
from  the  world  above:   you  belong  to  this  world,  I  do  not 

24  belong  to  this  world.  So  I  told  you,  you  would  die  in  your 
sins;  for  unless  you  believe  who  I  am,  you  will  die  in  your 

25  sins."     They  said,  "Who  are  you?"     Jesus  replied,   "Why 

26  should  I  talk  to  you  at  all?  I  have  a  great  deal  to  say 
about  you  and  many  a  judgment  to  pass  upon  you;  but 
he  who  sent  me  is  true,  and  so  I  tell  the  world  what  I  have 

27  learned    from    him."      They    did    not    understand    he    was 

28  speaking  to  them  about  the  Father;  so  Jesus  said,  "When 
you  have  lifted  up  the  Son  of  man,  you  will  know  then 
who  I  am,  and  that  I  do  nothing  of  my  own  accord,  but 

29  speak  as  the  Father  has  taught  me.  He  who  sent  me  is 
at  my  side;  he  has  not  left  me  alone;  for  I  always  do  what 

30  pleases  him."     As  he  said  this,  a  number  believed  in  him. 

31  So  Jesus  addressed  the  Jews  who  had  believed  him,  say- 
ing, "If  you  abide  by  what  I  say,  you  are  really  disciples 

32  of  mine:  you  will  understand  the  truth,  and  the  truth  will 

33  set  you  free."  "We  are  Abraham's  offspring,"  they  retorted, 
"we  have  never  been  slaves  to  anybody.    What  do  you  mean 

34  by  saying,  'You  will  be  free'?"    Jesus  replied,  "Truly,  truly 

35  I  tell  you,  everyone  who  commits  sin  is  a  slave.*  Now  the 
slave  does  not  remain  in  the  household  for  all  time;   the 

36  son  of  the  house  does.     So,  if  the  Son  sets  you  free,  you 

37  will  be  really  free.  I  know  you  are  Abraham's  offspring! 
Yet  you  want  to  kill  me,  since  my  word  makes  no  headway 

38  among  you!     I  speak  of  what  I  have  seen  with  my  Father, 

39  and  you  act  as  you  have  learned  from  your  father."  They 
answered  him,  "Abraham  is  our  father."  "If  you  are 
Abraham's  children,"  said  Jesus,  "then  do  as  Abraham  did; 

40  but  now  you  want  to  kill  me — to  kill  a  man  who  has  told 
you  the  truth,  the  truth  I  have  learned  from  God.    Abraham 

41  did  not  do  that.  You  do  the  deeds  of  your  father."  They 
said  to  him,  "We  are  no  bastards:  we  have  one  father,  even 

42  God."     Said  Jesus,  "If  God  were  your  father,  you  would 

*  Omitting  rrjs  afmprias  with  D,  some  evidence  from  the  Latin  and 
Syriac  versions,  etc.     It  is  a  gloss  which  disturbs  the  sense  of  the  passage. 


152  S.  JOHN  IX 

love  me,  for  I  came  here  from  God;  I  did  not  come  of  my 

43  own  accord,  I  was  sent  by  him.  Why  do  you  not  under- 
stand  my  speech?     Because   you   are  unable   to   listen   to 

44  what  I  am  saying.  You  belong  to  your  father  the  devil, 
and  you  want  to  do  what  your  father  desires;  he  was  a 
slayer  of  men  from  the  very  beginning,  and  he  has  no 
place  in  the  truth  because  there  is  no  truth  in  him:  when 
he  tells  a  lie,  he  is  expressing  his  own  nature,  for  he  is  a 

45  liar  and  the  father  of  lies.     It  is  because  I  tell  the  truth, 

46  that  you  do  not  believe  me.  Which  of  you  can  convict  me 
of  sin?     If  I  tell  the  truth,  why  do  you  not  believe  me? 

47  He  who  belongs  to  God  listens  to  the  words  of  God;  you 
do    not    listen    to    them,    because    you    do    not    belong    to 

48  God."    The  Jews  retorted,  "Are  we  not  right  in  saying  you 

49  are  a  Samaritan,  you  are  mad?"    Jesus  replied,  "I  am  not 

50  mad:  I  honour  my  Father  and  you  dishonour  me.  How- 
ever, I  do  not  aim  at  my  own  credit;    there  is  One  who 

51  cares  for  my  credit,  and  he  is  judge.  Truly,  truly  I  tell 
you,  if  anyone  holds  to  what  I  say,  he  will  never  see  death." 

52  The  Jews  said  to  him,  "Now  we  are  sure  you  are  mad. 
Abraham  is  dead,  and  so  are  all  the  prophets;  and  you 
declare,  'If  anyone  holds  to  what  I  say,  he  will  never  taste 

53  death'!  Are  you  greater  than  our  father  Abraham?  He 
is  dead,  and  the  prophets  are  dead.     Who  do  you  claim 

54  to  be?"  Jesus  replied,  "Were  I  to  glorify  myself,  my  glory 
would  be  nothing;   it  is  my  Father  who  glorifies  me;   you 

55  say  'He  is  our  God,'  but  you  do  not  understand  him.  I 
know  him.  Were  I  to  say,  'I  do  not  know  him,'  I  would  be 
a  liar  like  yourselves;   but  I  do  know  him  and  I  hold  to 

56  his  word.     Your  father  Abraham  exulted  that  he  was  to 

57  see  my  Day:  he  did  see  it  and  he  rejoiced."  Then  said  the 
Jews  to  him,  "You  are  not  fifty  years  old,  and  Abraham 

58  has  seen  you?"*     "Truly,  truly  I  tell  you,"  said  Jesus,  "I 

59  have  existed  before  Abraham  was  born."  At  this  they 
picked  up  stones  to  throw  at  him,  but  Jesus  concealed  him- 
self and  made  his  way  out  of  the  temple. 

9  As  he  passed  along  he  saw  a  man  who  had  been  blind 
from  his  birth;  and  his  disciples  asked  him,  "Rabbi,  for 
whose  sin — for  his  own  or  for  his  parents' — was  he  born 

3  blind?"    Jesus  replied,  "Neither  for  his  own  sin  nor  for  his 
parents' — it  was  to  let  the  work  of  God  be  illustrated  in 

4  him.   While  daylight  lasts,  we  must  be  busy  with  the  work 

5  of  God:  night  comes,  when  no  one  can  do  any  work.   When 

*  Reading  eihpaKh  ce  with  K  and  the  Sinaitic  Syriac,  etc. — "leQon  plus 
naturelle  peut-etre  que  la  legon  commune,  mais  qui  a  pu  choquer,  parce 
qu'elle  semble  mettre  Abraham  au-dessus  du  Christ  "  (Loisy). 


S.  JOHN  IX  153 

6  I  am  in  the  world,  I  am  light  for  the  world."  With 
these  words  he  spat  on  the  ground  and  made  clay  with  the 

7  saliva,  which  he  smeared  on  the  man's  eyes,  saying,  "Go 
and  wash  them  in  the  pool  of  Siloam"  (Siloam  meaning 
'sent').     So  off  he  went  and  washed  them,  and  went  home 

8  seeing.  Whereupon  the  neighbours  and  those  to  whom  he 
had  been  a  familiar  sight  as  a  beggar,  said,  "Is  this  not 

9  the  man  who  used  to  sit  and  beg?"  Some  said,  "It  is"; 
others  said,  "No,  but  it  is  like  him."     He  said,  "1  am  the 

10  man."    So  they  asked  him,  "How  were  your  eyes  opened?" 

11  He  replied,  "The  man  they  call  Jesus  made  some  clay 
and  smeared  my  eyes  with  it  and  told  me,  'Go  and  wash 
them  in  Siloam';   so  I  went  and  washed  them,  and  I  got 

12  my  sight."     "Where  is  he?"  they  asked;   he  ans\vered,  "I 

13  do  not  know."     They  brought  him  before   the   Pharisees, 

14  this  man  who  had  once  been  blind.  Now  it  was  on  the 
sabbath   day   that   Jesus   had   made   clay   and    opened    his 

15  eyes.  So  the  Pharisees  asked  him  again  how  he  had 
regained  his  sight,  and  he  told  them,  "He  smeared  some 
clay  on  my  eyes,  and  I  washed  them,  and  now  I  can  see." 

16  Then  said  some  of  the  Pharisees,  "This  man  is  not  from 
God,  for  he  does  not  keep  the  sabbath";  others  said,  "How 
can  a  sinner  perform  such  Signs?"     They  were  divided  on 

17  this.  So  they  asked  the  blind  man  once  more,  "What  have 
you  to  say  about  him,  for  opening  your  eyes?"     The  man 

18  replied,  "I  say  he  is  a  prophet."  Now  the  Jews  would 
not  believe  he  had  been  born  blind  and  had  regained  his 
sight,  till  they  summoned  the  parents  of  the  man  who  had 

19  regained  his  sight  and  asked  them,  "Is  this  your  son, 
the  son  you  declare  was  born  blind?     How  is  it  that  he 

20  can  see  now?"     His  parents  answered,  "This  is  our  son, 

21  and  he  was  born  blind;  we  know  that.  But  how  he  can 
see  to-day,  we  do  not  know,  nor  do  we  know  who  opened  his 
eyes.     Ask  himself;    he  is  of  age,  he  can  speak  for  him- 

22  self."  (His  parents  said  this  because  they  were  afraid  of 
the  Jews;  for  the  Jews  had  already  agreed  that  anyone 
who  confessed  him  to  be  Christ  should  be  excommunicated. 

23  That  was  why  the  man's  parents  said,  "He  is  of  age,  ask 

24  himself.")  So  the  man  born  blind  was  summoned  a  second 
time,  and  told,  "Now  give  God  the  praise;    this  man,  we 

25  know  quite  well,  is  only  a  sinner."  To  which  he  replied, 
"I  do  not  know  whether  he  is  a  sinner;    one  thing  I  do 

26  know,  that  once  I  was  blind  and  now  I  can  see."  "What 
did  he  do  to  you?"  they  repeated;  "How  did  he  open  your 

27  eyes?"  He  retorted,  "I  have  told  you  that  already,  and  you 
would  not  listen  to  me.    Why  do  you  want  to  hear  it  over 

28  again?  Do  you  want  to  be  disciples  of  his?"  Then  they 
stormed  at  him:  "You  are  his  disciple,  we  are  disciples  of 


154  S.  JOHN  X 

29  Moses!     We  know  God  spoke  to  Moses,  but  we  do  not  know 

30  where  this  fellow  comes  from."  The  man  replied  to  them, 
"Well,   this  is  astonishing!      You   do  not  know  where  he 

31  comes  from,  and  yet  he  has  opened  my  eyes!  God,  we 
know,  does  not  listen  to  sinners;  he  listens  to  anyone  who 

32  is  devout  and  who  obeys  his  will.  It  is  unheard  of,  since 
the  world  began,  that  anyone  should  open  a  blind  man's 

33  eyes.     If  this  man  were  not  from  God,  he  could  do  noth- 

34  ing."     They  retorted,  "And  so  you  would  teach  us — you, 

35  born  in  utter  depravity!"  Then  they  expelled  him.  Jesus 
heard  that  they  had  expelled  him,  and  on  meeting  him  he 

36  said,  "You  believe  in  the  Son  of  man?"  *  "Who  is  that, 
sir?"  said  the  man,  "tell  me,  that  I  may  believe  in  him." 

37  "You  have  seen  him,"  Jesus  said,  "he  is  talking  to  you." 

38  He   said,   "I   do   believe,   Lord" — and   he   worshipped   him. 

39  Then  said  Jesus,  "It  is  for  judgment  that  I  have  come  into 
this  world,  to  make  the  sightless  see,  to  make  the  seeing 

40  blind."     On  hearing  this  the   Pharisees   who   were  beside 

41  him  asked,  "And  are  we  blind?"  Jesus  replied,  "If  you 
were  blind,  you  would  not  be  guilty;    but,  as   it  is,  you 

19  claim  to  have  sight — and  so  your  sin  remains."  t 

20  The  Jews  were  again  divided  over  these  words.     A  num- 

21  ber  of  them  said,  "He  is  mad.  Why  listen  to  him?"  Others 
said,  "These  are  not  a  madman's  words.  Can  a  madman, 
open  the  eyes  of  the  blind?" 

22  Then  came  the  festival  of  Dedication  at  Jerusalem;    it 

23  was  winter,  and  Jesus  used  to  walk  inside  the  temple,  in 

24  the  portico  of  Solomon.  So  the  Jews  gathered  round  him 
and  asked,  "How  long  are  you  going  to  keep  us  in  sus- 

25  pense?  If  you  are  the  Christ,  tell  us  plainly."  Jesus 
replied,  "I  have  told  you,  but  you  do  not  believe;  the  deeds 

26  I  do  in  the  name  of  my  Father  testify  to  me,  but  you  do 

27  not  believe,  because  you  do  not  belong  to  my  sheep.     My 

28  sheep  listen  to  my  voice,  and  I  know  them  and  they  follow 
me;   and  I  give  them  eternal  life;   they  will  never  perish, 

29  and  no  one  will  snatch  them  out  of  my  hand.  My  Father 
who  t  gave  me  them  is  stronger  than  all,  and  no  one  can 
snatch  anything  out  of  the  Father's  hand. 

1r\  Truly,  truly  I  tell  you,  he  who  does  not  enter  the 
v/  sheepfold  by  the  gate  but  climbs  up  somewhere  else, 

2  he  is  a  thief  and  a  robber;   he  who  enters  by  the  gate  is 

3  the   shepherd    of   the    sheep.      The    gate-keeper    opens   the 

*  Reading  dvdpivirov  instead  of  Beov. 

t  Transposing  x.  19-29,  for  the  sake  of  sequence,  to  the  close  of  ch.  ix. 

X  Reading  5$  .  .  .  fxel^uv  with  A  1,  the  Syriac  versions,  etc. 


S.  JOHN  X  155 

gate  for  him,  and  the  sheep  listen  to  his  voice;  he  calls  his 

4  sheep  by  name  and  leada-  them  out.    When  he  has  brought 
all  his  sheep  outside,  he  goes  in  front  of  them,  and  the 

5  sheep  follow  him  because  they  know  his  voice;   they  will 
not  follow  a  stranger,  they  will  run  from  him,  because  they 

6  do  not  know  the  voice  of  strangers."    Jesus  told  them  this 
allegory,  but  they  did  not  understand  what  he  was  saying 

7  to  them;  so  he  said  to  them  again,  "Truly,  truly  I  tell  you, 

8  I  am  the  shepherd*  of  the  sheep;   all  who  ever  came  be- 
fore  me   have   been    thieves    and    robbers — but    the    sheep 

9  would  not  listen  to  them.     (I  am  the  Gate;  whoever  enters 
by  me  will  be  saved,  he  will  go  in  and  out  and  find  pas- 

10  ture.)  The  thief  only  comes  to  steal,  to  slay,  and  to  de- 
stroy: I  have  come  that  they  may  have  life  and  have  it  to 

11  the  full.     I  am  the  good  shepherd;   a  good  shepherd  lays 

12  down  his  own  life  for  the  sheep.  The  hired  man,  who  is 
not  the  shepherd  and  does  not  own  the  sheep,  deserts  them 
when  he  sees  the  wolf  coming;  he  runs  away,  leaving  the 

13  wolf  to  tear  and  scatter  them,  just  because  he  is  a  hired 

14  man,  who  has  no  interest  in  the  sheep.     I  am  the  good 

15  shepherd,  I  know  my  sheep  and  my  sheep  know  me  (just 
as  the  Father  knows  me  and  I  know  the  Father,)   and  I 

16  lay  down  my  life  for  the  sheep.  I  have  other  sheep,  too, 
which  do  not  belong  to  this  fold;  I  must  bring  them  also, 
and  they  will  listen  to  my  voice;   so  it  will  be  one  flock, 

17  one  shepherd.     This  is  why  my  Father  loves  me,  because 

18  I  lay  down  my  life  to  take  it  up  again.  No  one  takes  it 
from  me,  I  lay  it  down  of  my  own  accord:  I  have  power 
to  lay  it  down  and  also  power  to  take  it  up  again;  I  have 

30  my  Father's  orders  for  this.     I  and  my  Father  are  one — ." 

31  The  Jews  again  caught  up  stones  to  stone  him.     Jesus 
^^   replied,  "I  have  let  you  see  many  a  good  deed  of  God;  for 

33  which  of  them  do  you  mean  to  stone  me?"  The  Jews  re- 
torted, "We  mean  to  stone  you,  not  for  a  good  deed,  but  for 
blasphemy,  because  you,  a  mere  man,  make  yourself  God." 

34  Jesus  answered,  "Is  it  not  written  in  your  Law,  *7  said, 

35  you  are  gods'?  If  the  Law  said  they  were  gods,  to  whom 
the  word  of  God  came — and  scripture  cannot  be  broken — 

36  do  you  mean  to  tell  me,  whom  the  Father  consecrated  and 
sent  into  the  world,  'You  are  blaspheming,'  because  I  said, 

37  'I  am  God's   Son'?     If  I  am  not  doing  the  deeds   of  my 

38  Father,  do  not  believe  me;  but  if  I  am,  then  believe  the 
deeds,  though  you  will  not  believe  me — that  you  may  learn 
and  understand  that  the  Father  is  in  me  and  I  am  in  the 

*  6  iroifiTjv  must  be  read  here  instead  of  V  6^pa,  for  the  sake  of  the 
sense,  although  it  seems  to  have  been  preserved  by  the  Sahidic  version 
alone. 


156  S.  JOHN  XI 

39  Father."      Once    more    they    tried    to   arrest   him,    but    he 

40  escaped  their  hands  and  went  across  the  Jordan,  back  to 

41  the  spot  where  John  had  baptized  at  first.  There  he 
stayed;  and  many  came  to  him,  saying,  "John  did  not  per- 
form any  Sign,  but  all  he  ever  said  about  this  man  was 

42  true."    And  many  believed  in  him  there. 

1-1    Now  there  was  a  man  ill,  Lazarus  of  Bethany — the  vii- 
1   lage  of  Mary  and  her  sister  Martha.    (The  Mary  whose 
brother  Lazarus  was  ill  was  the  Mary  who  anointed  the  Lord 

5  with  perfume  and  wiped  his  feet  with  her  hair. )      Jesus  loved 

3  Martha  and  her  sister  and  Lazarus;*  so  the  sisters  sent  to 

4  him,  saying,  "Lord,  he  whom  you  love  is  ill."  When  Jesus 
heard  it,  he  said,  "This  illness  is  not  to  end  in  death;  the 
end  of  it  is  the  glory  of  God,  that  the  Son  of  God  may  be 

6  glorified  thereby."     So,  when  he  heard  of  the  illness,  he 

7  stayed  where  he  was  for  two  days;  then,  after  that,  he  said 

8  to  the  disciples,  "Let  us  go  back  to  Judaea."  "Rabbi," 
said  the  disciples,  "the  Jews  were  trying  to  stone  you  only 

9  the  other  day;  are  you  going  back  there?"  Jesus  replied, 
"Are  there  not  twelve  hours  in  the  day? 

If  one  walks  during  the  day  he  does  not  stumble, 
for  he  sees  the  light  of  this  world: 

10  but  if  one  w^alks  during  the  night  he  does  stumble, 

for  the  light  is  not  in  him." 

11  This  he  said,  then  added,  "Our  friend  Lazarus  has  fallen 

12  asleep;   I  am  going  to  waken  him."     "Lord,"  said  the  dis- 

13  ciples,  "if  he  has  fallen  asleep,  he  will  get  better."  Jesus, 
however,   had   been    speaking    of   his   death;    but   as    they 

14  imagined  he  meant  natural  sleep,  he  then  told  them  plainly, 

15  "Lazarus  is  dead;  and  for  your  sakes  I  am  glad  I  was  not 
there,  that  you  may  believe.    Come  now,  let  us  go  to  him." 

16  Whereupon  Thomas  (called  'the  Twin')  said  to  his  fellow- 
disciples,  "Let  us  go  too,  let  us  die  along  with  him!" 

17  Now  when  Jesus   arrived,    he   found   that   Lazarus   had 

20  been  buried  for  four  days.t  Then  Martha,  hearing  of  the 
arrival  of  Jesus,  went  out  to  meet  him,  while  Mary  sat  at 

21  home.     Said  Martha  to  Jesus,  "Had  you  been  here,  Lord, 

22  my  brother  would  not  have  died.     But  now — well,  I  know 

23  whatever  you  ask  God  for,  he  will  grant  you."     Jesus  said 

24  to  her,  "Your  brother  will  rise  again."  "I  know,"  said 
Martha,  "he  will  rise  at  the  resurrection,  on  the  last  day." 

25  Jesus  said  to  her,  "I  am  myself  resurrection  and  life: 

*  ^  venture  to  restore  ver.  5  to  what  appears  to  have  been  its  origiual 
position  between  vers.  2  and  3. 

t  Another  case  of  displacement;  vers.  18  and  19  seem  originally  to 
have  lain  between  vers.  30  and  31. 


S.  JOHN  XI  157 

he  who  believes  in  me  will  live,  even  if  he  dies, 

26  and  no  one  who  lives  and  believes  in  me  will  ever  die. 

27  You  believe  that?"  "Yes,  Lord,"  she  said,  "I  do  believe  you 
are  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  who  was  to  come  into  the 

28  world" — and  with  these  words  she  went  off  to  call  her 
sister  Mary,   telling   her   secretly,    "The   Teacher   is   here, 

29  and  he  is  calling  for  you."     So,  on  hearing  this,  Mary  rose 

30  hurriedly  and  went  to  him.  Jesus  had  not  entered  the 
village   yet,   he  was   still  at  the   spot  where   Martha   had 

18  met  him.     Now  as  Bethany  is  not  far  from  Jerusalem,  only 

19  about  two  miles  away,  a  number  of  Jews  had  gone  to  con- 

31  dole  wuth  Martha  and  Mary  about  their  brother;  and  when 
the  Jews  who  were  condoling  with  her  inside  the  house 
noticed  her  rise  hurriedly  and  go  out,  they  followed  her> 

32  as  they  imagined  she  was  going  to  wail  at  the  tomb.  But 
when  Mary  came  to  where  Jesus  was  and  saw  him,  she 
dropped   at   his   feet,   crying,    "Had   you   been   here,   Lord, 

33  my  brother  would  not  have  died."  Now  when  Jesus  saw 
her  wailing  and  saw  the  Jews  who  accompanied  her  wail- 

34  ing,  he  chafed  in  spirit  and  was  disquieted.     "Where  have 
3-    you    laid    him?"    he    asked.      They   answered,    "Come    and 

36  see,  sir."     Jesus  burst  into  tears.     Whereupon   the   Jews 

37  said,  "See  how  he  loved  him!" — though  some  of  them 
asked.  "Could  he  not  have  prevented  him  from  dying,  when 

38  he  could  open  a  blind  man's  eyes?"  This  made  Jesus  chafe 
afresh,  so  he  went  to  the  tomb;  it  was  a  cave  with  a  boulder 

39  to  close  it.  Jesus  said,  "Remove  the  boulder."  "Lord," 
said  Martha,  the  dead  man's  sister,  "he  will  be  stinking 

40  by  this  time;  he  has  been  dead  four  days."  "Did  I  not  tell 
you,"  said  Jesus,  "if  you  will  only  believe,  you  shall  see 

41  the  glory  of  God?"  Then  they  removed  the  boulder,  and 
Jesus,  lifting  his  eyes  to  heaven,  said,   "Father,   I  thank 

42  thee  for  listening  to  me.  (I  knew  thou  wouldst  always 
listen  to  me,  but  I  spoke  on  account  of  the  crowd  around, 

43  that  they  might  believe  thou  hast  sent  me.)"     So  saying, 

44  he  exclaimed  with  a  loud  cry,  "Lazarus,  come  out!"  Out 
came  the  dead  man,  his  feet  and  hands  swathed  in  band- 
ages, and  his  face  tied  up  with  a  towel.  Jesus  said,  "Untie 
him,  and  let  him  move." 

45  Now  a  number  of  the  Jews  who  had  come  to  visit  Mary 

46  and  who  witnessed  what  he  had  done,  believed  in  him.  But 
some  of  them  went  off  to  the  Pharisees  and  told  them  what 

47  Jesus  had  done;  whereupon  the  high  priests  and  the 
Pharisees  called  a  meeting  of  the  Sanhedrin.  "Whatever 
is  to  be  done?"  they  said.     "The  fellow  is  performing  a 

48  number  of  Signs.  If  we  let  him  alone,  like  this,  every- 
body will  believe  in  him,  and  then  the  Romans  will  come 

49  and  suppress  our  holy  Place  and  our  nation."     But  one  of 


158  S.  JOHN  XII 

them,  Caiaphas,  who  was  high  priest  that  year,  said,  "You 

50  know  nothing  about  it — you  do  not  understand  it  is  in 
your  own  interests  that  one  man  should  die  for  the  People, 

51  instead  of  the  whole  nation  oeing  destroyed."  (He  did 
not  say  this  simply  of  his  own  accord;  he  was  high  priest 
that  year,  and  his  words  were  a  prophecy  that  Jesus  was 

52  to  die  for  the  nation,  and  not  merely  for  the  nation  but 

53  to  gather  into  one  the  scattered  children  of  God.)     So  from 

54  that  day  their  plan  was  to  kill  him.  Accordingly  Jesus  no 
longer  appeared  in  public  among  the  Jews,  but  withdrew 
to  the  country  adjoining  the  desert,  to  a  town  called 
Ephraim;   there  he  stayed  with  the  disciples. 

55  Now  the  passover  of  the  Jews  was  near,  and  many  people 
went  up  from  the  country  to  Jerusalem,  to  purify  them- 

56  selves  before  the  passover.  They  looked  out  for  Jesus,  and 
as  they  stood  in  the  temple  they  said  to  one  another,  "What 
do  you  think?     Do  you  think  he  will  not  come  up  to  the 

57  festival?"  (The  high  priests  and  the  Pharisees  had  given 
orders  that  they  were  to  be  informed,  if  anyone  found 
out  where  he  was,  so  that  they  might  arrest  him.) 

"1  o  Six  days  before  the  festival,  Jesus  came  to  Bethany, 
1  Zd  where  Lazarus  stayed   (whom  Jesus  had  raised  from 

2  the  dead).  They  gave  a  supper  for  him  there;  Martha 
waited  on  him,  and  Lazarus  was  among  those  who  reclined 

3  at  table  beside  him.  Then  Mary,  taking  a  pound  of  expen- 
sive perfume,  real  nard,  anointed  the  feet  of  Jesus  and 
wiped  his  feet  with  her  hair,  till  the  house  was  filled  with 

4  the  scent  of  the  perfume.     One  of  his  disciples,  Judas  Is- 

5  cariot  (who  was  to  betray  him),  said,  "Why  was  not  this 
perfume  sold  for  ten  pounds,  and  the  money  given  to  the 

6  poor?"  (Not  that  he  cared  for  the  poor;  he  said  this 
because  he  was  a  thief,  and  because  he  carried  the  money- 

7  box  and  pilfered  what  was  put  in.)  Then  said  Jesus,  "Let 
her  alone,  let  her  keep  what  she  has  for  the  day  of  my 

8  burial.  You  have  always  the  poor  beside  you,  but  you 
have  not  always  me." 

9  Now  the  great  mass  of  the  Jews  learned  he  was  there, 
and  they  came  not  only  on  account  of  Jesus  but  to  see 

10  Lazarus  whom  he  had  raised  from  the  dead.     So  the  high 

11  priests  planned  to  kill  Lazarus  as  well,  since  it  was  owing 
to  him  that  a  number  of  the  Jews  went  away  and  believed 
in  Jesus. 

12  Next  day  the  great  mass  of  people  who  had  come  up  for 

13  the  festival  heard  that  Jesus  was  entering  Jerusalem,  and 
taking  palm-branches  they  went  out  to  meet  him,  shouting, 

''Hosannal 


S.  JOHN  XII  159 

Blessed  be  he  who  comes  in  the  Lord's  name, 
the  king  of  Israel!" 

14  And  Jesus  came  across  a  young  ass  and  seated  himself  on 
it;   as  it  is  written, 

15  Fear  not,  daughter  of  Sion; 
here  is  your  king  coming, 
seated  on  an  ass's  colt. 

16  (His  disciples  did  not  understand  this  at  first;  but  when 
Jesus  was  glorified,  then  they  remembered  this  had  been 

17  written  of  him  and  had  happened  to  him.)  Now  the 
people  who  were  with  him  when  he  called  Lazarus  from 
the  tomb  and  raised  him  from  the   dead,  testified  to  it; 

18  and  that  was  why  the  crowd  went  out  to  meet  him,  because 

19  they  heard  he  had  performed  this  Sign.  Then  said  the 
Pharisees  to  one  another,  "You  see,  you  can  do  nothing! 
Look,  the  world  has  gone  after  him." 

20  Now  there  were  some  Greeks  among  those  who  had  come 

21  up  to  worship  at  the  festival;  they  came  to  Philip  of  Beth- 
saida  in  Galilee  and  appealed  to  him,  saying,  "Sir,  we  want 

22  to  see  Jesus."    Philip  went  and  told  Andrew;  Andrew  and 

23  Philip  went  and  told  Jesus.     And  Jesus  answered,   "The 

24  hour  has  come  for  the  Son  of  man  to  be  glorified.  Truly, 
truly  I  tell  you,  unless  a  grain  of  wheat  falls  into  the  earth 
and  dies,  it  remains  a  single  grain;  but  if  it  dies,  it  bears 

25  rich  fruit.  He  who  loves  his  life  loses  it,  and  he  who  cares 
not  for  his  life  in  this  world  will  preserve  it  for  eternal 
life. 

26  If  anyone  serves  me,  let  him  follow  me, 

and  where  I  am,  there  shall  my  servant  be  also: 
if  anyone  serves  me, 

my  Father  will  honour  him. 

27  My  soul  is  now  disquieted.  What  am  I  to  say?  'Father, 
save  me  from  this  hour'?     Nay,  it  is  something  else  that 

28  has  brought  me  to  this  hour:  I  will  say,  'Father,  glorify 
thy   name.' "     Then   came   a   voice   from   heaven,    "I   have 

29  glorified  it,  and  I  will  glorify  it  again."  When  they  heard 
the  sound,  the  people  standing  by  said  it  had  thundered; 

30  others   said,   "An  angel   spoke  to  him."     Jesus  answered, 

31  "This  voice  did  not  come  for  my  sake  but  for  yours.  Now 
is  this  world  to  be  judged;   now  the  Prince  of  this  world 

32  will  be  expelled.     But  I,  when  I  am  lifted  up  from  the 

33  earth,  will  draw  all  men  to  myself."     (By  this  he  indicated 

34  the  kind  of  death  he  was  to  die.)  So  the  people  an- 
swered, "We  have  learned  from  the  Law  that  the  Christ  is 
to  remain  for  ever;  what  do  you  mean  by  saying  that  the 
Son  of  man  must  be  lifted  up?    Who  is  this  Son  of  man?" 

35  Then  Jesus  said  to  them,  "The  Light  will  shine  among  you 
for  a  little  longer  yet;    walk  while  you  have  the  Light, 


160  S.  JOHN  XIII 

that  the  darkness  may  not  overtake  you.     He  who  walks 

36  in  the  dark  does  not  know  where  he  is  going.     While  you 

have  the  Light,  believe  in  the  Light,  that  you  may  be  sons 

44  of  the  Light."  *     And  Jesus  cried  aloud,  "He  who  believes 

45  in  me  believes  not  in  me  but  in  him  who  sent  me,  and  he 

46  who  beholds  me  beholds  him  who  sent  me.  I  have  come 
as  light  into  the  world,  that  no  one  who  believes  in  me 

47  may  remain  in  the  dark.  If  anyone  hears  my  words  and 
does  not  keep  them,  it  is  not  I  who  judge  him;  for  I  have 

48  not  come  to  judge  the  world  but  to  save  the  world.  He 
who  rejects  me  and  will  not  receive  my  words  has  indeed 
a  judge:    the  word  I  have  spoken  will  judge  him  on  the 

49  last  day,  for  I  have  not  spoken  of  my  own  accord — the 
Father  who  sent  me,  he  it  was  who  ordered  me  what  to  say 

50  and  what  to  speak.  And  I  know  his  orders  mean  eternal 
life.     Therefore  when  I  speak,  I  speak  as  the  Father  has 

36  told  me."  With  these  words  Jesus  went  away  and  hid 
from  them. 

37  Now  for  all  the   Signs  he  had  performed  before  them, 

38  they  did  not  believe  in  him — that  the  word  spoken  by  the 
prophet  Isaiah  might  be  fulfilled: 

Lord,  ivJio  has  believed  what  they  heard  from  us? 
And  to  whom  has  the  arm  of  the  Lord  been  revealed? 

39  This  was  why  they  could  not  believe;  for  Isaiah  again 
said, 

40  He  has  Minded  their  eyes 

and  made  their  hearts  insensible, 
to  prevent  them  seeing  ivith  their  eyes  and  understand- 
ing with  their  hearts  and  turning  for  me  to  cure 
them. 

41  (Isaiah  said  this  because  he  saw  his  glory  and  spoke  of 

42  him.)  Still,  a  number  even  of  the  authorities  believed  in 
him,  though  they  would  not  confess  it  on  account  of  the 

43  Pharisees,  in  case  of  being  excommunicated;  they  pre- 
ferred the  approval  of  men  to  the  approval  of  God. 


1  O  Now  before  the  passover  festival  Jesus  knew  the  time 
1 0  had  come  for  him  to  pass  from  this  world  to  the 
Father.  He  had  loved  his  own  in  this  world  and  he  loved 
2,  them  to  the  end;  so  at  supper,  knowing  that  though  the 
devil    had    suggested    to    Judas    Iscariot,    Simon's    son,    to 

3  betray  him,  the  Father  had  put  everything  into  his  hands 
— knowing  that  he  had  come  from  God  and  was  going  to 

4  God,  he  rose  from  table,  laid  aside  his  robe,  and  tied  a 

5  towel    round   him,    then   poured   water   into   a  basin,   and 

*  Restoring  vers.   44-50  to  their  original  position  in  the  middle  of 
ver.  36. 


S.  JOHN  XIII  161 

began  to  wash  the  feet  of  the  disciples,  wiping  them  with 

6  the   towel    he    had   tied    round   him.      He   came    to    Simon 

7  Peter.     "Lord,"  said  he,  "you  to  wash  my  feet!"    Jesus  an- 
swered him,  "You  do  not  understand  just  now  what  I  am 

8  doing,  but  you  will  understand  it  later  on."     Said  Peter, 
"You  will  never  wash  my  feet,  never!"     "Unless   I  wash 

9  you,"  Jesus  replied,  "you  will  not  share  my  lot."     "Lord," 
said   Simon  Peter,   "then  wash   not  only  my  feet  but  my 

10  hands  and  head."  Jesus  said,  "He  who  has  bathed  only 
needs  to  have  his  feet  washed;    he  is  clean  all  over.  And 

11  you  are  clean — but  not  all  of  you"   (he  knew  the  traitor; 

12  that  was  why  he  said,  "You  are  not  all  clean").  Then, 
after  washing  their  feet  and  putting  on  his  robe,  he  lay 
down  again.     "Do  you  know,"  he  said  to  them,   "what  I 

13  have  been  doing  to  you?     You  call  me  Teacher  and  Lord, 

14  and  you  are  right:  that  is  what  I  am.  Well,  if  I  have 
washed  your  feet,  I  who  am  your  Lord  and  Teacher,  you 

15  are  bound  to  wash  one  c^nother's  feet;  for  I  have  been 
setting  you  an  example,  that  you  should,  do  what  I  have 

16  done  to  you.  Truly,  truly  I  tell  you,  a  servant  is  not 
greater  than  his  master,  nor  is  a  messenger  greater  than 

17  he  who  sent  him.     If  you  know  all  this,  blessed  are  you  if 

18  you  really  do  it.  When  I  say  'you,'  I  do  not  mean  you  all; 
I  know  the  men  of  my  choice,  and  I  made  my  choice  that 
this  scripture  m.ight  be  fulfilled,  he  wTio  eats  my  bread  has 

19  lifted  up  his  heel  against  me.  I  am  telling  you  this  now, 
before  it  occurs,  so  that  when  it  has  occurred  you  may 

20  believe  who  I  am.     (Truly,  truly  I  tell  you, 

he  who  receives  anyone  I  send  receives  me, 

and  he  who  receives  me  receives  him  who  sent  me.)" 

21  On  saying  this  Jesus  was  disquieted  in  spirit:  he  testified 
and  said,  "Truly,  truly  I  tell  you,  one  of  yon  will  betray 

22  me."    The  disciples  looked  at  each  other,  at  a  loss  to  know 

23  which  of  them  he  meant.  As  one  of  his  disciples  was 
reclining  on  his  breast — he  was  the  favourite  of  Jesus — 

24  Peter   nodded   to   him,    saying,    "Tell    us   who   he   means." 

25  The  disciple  just  leant  back  on  the  breast  of  Jesus  and  said, 

26  "Lord,  who  is  it?"  Jesus  answered,  "The  man  I  am  going 
to  give  this  piece  of  bread  to,  when  I  dip  it  in  the  dish." 
Then  he  took  the  piece  of  bread,  dipped  it,  and  gave  it  to 

27  Judas,  the  son  of  Simon  Iscariot;  and  when  he  took  the 
bread,   at   that   moment   Satan   entered   him.     Then   Jesus 

28  told  him,  "Be  quick  with  what  you  have  to  do."     (None  of 

29  those  at  table  understood  why  he  said  this  to  him;  some 
of  them  thought  that  as  Judas  kept  the  money-box,  Jesus 
told  him  to  buy  what  they  needed  for  the  festival  or  to 

30  give  something  to  the  poor.)  So  Judas  went  out  imme- 
diately after  taking  the  bread.     And  it  was  night. 


162  S.  JOHN  XV 

31       When  He  had  gone  out,  Jesus  said,* 

1  pr  "I   AM    the   real   Vine,    and   my   Father   is   the   vine- 

2  1^  dresser;  he  cuts  away  any  branch  on  me  which  is  not 
bearing  fruit,   and  cleans   every   branch   which   does  bear 

3  fruit,  to  make  it  bear  richer  fruit.    You  are  already  clean, 

4  by  the  word  I  have  spoken  to  you.  Remain  in  me,  as  I 
remain  in  you:  just  as  a  branch  cannot  bear  fruit 
by     itself,     without     remaining     on     the     vine,     neither 

5  can  you,  unless  you  remain  in  me.  I  am  the  vine, 
you  are  the  branches.  He  who  remains  in  me,  as  I  in  him, 
bears  rich  fruit  (because  apart  from  me  you  can  do  noth- 

6  ing).  If  anyone  does  not  remain  in  me  he  is  thrown  aside 
like  a  branch  and  he  withers  up;    then  the  branches  are 

7  gathered  and  thrown  into  the  fire  to  be  burned.  If  you 
remain  in  me  and  my  words  remain  in  you,  then  ask  what- 

8  ever  you  like  and  you  shall  have  it.  As  you  bear  rich  fruit 
and  prove  yourselves  my  disciples,  my  Father  is  glorified. 

9  As  the  Father  has  loved  me,  so  I  have  loved  you;   remain 

10  within  my  love.  If  you  keep  my  commands  you  will 
remain  within  my  love,  just  as  I  have  kept  my  Father's 
commands  and  remain  within  his  love. 

11  I  have  told  you  this,  that  my  joy  may  be  within  you  and 

12  your  joy  complete.     This  is  my  command:  you  are  to  love 

13  one  another  as  I  have  loved  you.     To  lay  life  down  for  his 

14  friends,    man    has   no    greater   love    than    that.      You    are 

15  my  friends — if  you  do  what  I  command  you;  I  call  you 
servants  no  longer,  because  a  servant  does  not  know  what 
his  master  is  doing:  I  call  you  friends,  because  I  have  im- 

16  parted  to  you  all  that  I  have  learned  from  my  Father.  You 
have  not  chosen  me,  it  is  I  who  have  chosen  you,  appoint- 
ing you  to  go  and  bear  fruit — fruit  that  lasts,  so  that  the 
Father   may   grant   you   whatever   you   ask    in   my   name. 

17  This  is  what  I  command  you,  to  love  one  another. 

18  If   the   world   hates   you,    remember   it    hated   me   first. 

19  If  you  belonged  to  the  world,  the  world  would  love  what  it 
owned;  it  is  because  you  do  not  belong  to  the  world, 
because  I  have  chosen  you  from  the  world,  that  the  world 

20  hates  you.  Remember  what  I  told  you,  *A  servant  is  not 
greater  than  his  master.' 

If  they  persecuted  me,  they  will  persecute  you; 
if  they  hold  to  my  word,  they  will  hold  to  yours. 

21  They   will   do   all   this   to   you   on   account   of  my   name, 

22  because  they  know  not  him  who  sent  me.  They  would 
not  be  guilty,  if  I  had  not  come  and  spoken  to  them;  but, 

*  Chapters   xv.    and   xvi.    are   restored   to   their   original   position   in 
the  middle  of  ver.  31. 


S.  JOHN  XVI  163 

23  as  it  is,  they  have  no  excuse  for  their  sin — he  who  hates 

24  me  hates  my  Father  also.  They  would  not  be  guilty,  if  I 
had  not  done  deeds  among  them  such  as  no  one  has  ever 
done;  but,  as  it  is,  they  have  seen — and  they  have  hated — 

25  both  me  and  my  Father.  It  is  that  the  word  written  in 
their  Law  may  be  fulfilled:   they  hated  me  for  no  cause. 

26  When  the  Helper  comes,  whom  I  will  send  to  you  from 
the  Father,  even  the  Spirit  of  truth  which  issues  from  the 

27  Father,  he  will  bear  witness  to  me;  and  you  too  are  wit- 
nesses, for  you  have  been  with  me  from  the  very  beginning. 

1r^  I    have   told   you    all   this,    to   keep    you   from   being 
O  repelled.     They  will  excommunicate  you;   indeed  the 
time  is  coming  when  anyone  who  kills  you  will  imagine  he 

3  is  performing  a  service  to  God.  This  they  will  do  to  you, 
because  they  have  not  known  the  Father  nor  me. 

4  I  have  told  you  all  this,  so  that  when  the  time  for  it 
arrives,  you  may  remember  what  I  said  to  you.  I  did  not 
tell  you  about  this  at  the  beginning,  because  I  was  with 

5  you  then;  but  now  I  am  going  to  him  who  sent  me.     And 

6  yet  not  one  of  you  asks,  'Where  are  you  going?'    No,  your 

7  heart  is  full  of  sorrow  at  what  I  have  told  you.  Yet — I  am 
telling  you  the  truth — my  going  is  for  your  good.  If  I  do 
not  depart,  the  Helper  will  not  come  to  you;  whereas  if  I 

8  go,  I  will  send  him  to  you.  And  when  he  comes,  he  will 
convict  the  world,  convincing  men  of  sin,  of  righteousness, 

9  and  of  judgment:    of  sin,  because  they  do  not  believe  in 

10  me;   of  righteousness,  because  I  go  to  the  Father  and  you 

11  see  me  no  more;   of  judgment,  because  the  Prince  of  this 

12  world  has  been  judged.     I  have  still  much  to  say  to  you, 

13  but  you  cannot  bear  it  just  now.  However,  when  the  Spirit 
of  truth  comes,  he  will  lead  you  into  all  the  truth;  for  he 
will  not  speak  of  his  own  accord,  he  will  say  whatever  he 

14  is  told,  and  he  will  disclose  to  you  what  is  to  come.  He 
will  glorify  me,  for  he  will  draw  upon  what  is  mine  and 

15  disclose  it  to  you.  All  that  the  Father  has  is  mine;  that 
is  why  I  say,  'he  will  draw  upon  what  is  mine  and  disclose 
it  to  you.' 

16  In  a  little  while,  you  will  behold  me  no  longer;    then,. 

17  after  a  little,  you  shall  see  me."  So  some  of  his  disciples 
said  to  one  another,  "What  does  he  mean  by  telling  us, 
'In  a  little  while,  you  shall  behold  me  no  longer;  then, 
after  a  little,  you  shall  see  me'?  and,  'I  go  to  the  Father'?"" 

18  They  said,  "What  is  the  meaning  of  'In  a  little'?     We  do 

19  not  understand  what  he  is  saying."  Jesus  knew  they 
wanted  to  ask  him;  so  he  said  to  them,  "Is  this  what  you 
are  discussing  together,  why  I  said,  'In  a  little  while,  you 
will  not  see  me:    then,  after  a  little,  you  shall  see  me'? 


164  S.  JOHN  XVI 

20  Truly,  truly,  I  tell  you,  you  will  be  wailing  and  lamenting 
while  the  world  is  rejoicing;    you  will  be  sorrowful,  but 

21  then  your  sorrow  will  be  changed  into  joy.  When  a  woman 
is  in  labour  she  is  sorry,  for  her  time  has  come;  but  when 
the  child  is  born  she  remembers  her  anguish  no  longer, 
for  joy  that  a  human  being  has  been  born  into  the  world. 

22  So  with  you.  Just  now  you  are  in  sorrow,  but  I  shall 
see  you  again  and  your  heart  will  rejoice — with  a  joy  that 
no  one  can  take  from  you. 

23  And  on  that  day  you  will  not  ask  me  any  questions. 
Truly,  truly  I  tell  you,  whatever  you  ask  the  Father,  he 

24  will  give  you  in  my  name;  hitherto  you  have  asked  noth- 
ing in  my  name;   ask  and  you  will  receive,  that  your  joy 

25  may  be  full.  I  have  told  you  this  in  figures,  but  the  time 
is  coming  when  I  shall  speak  to  you  in  figures  no  longer; 

26  I  shall  let  you  know  plainly  about  the  Father.  On  that 
day  you  will  ask  in  my  name,  and  I  do  not  say  to  you  I 

27  will  ask  the  Father  on  your  behalf;  for  the  Father  loves 
you  himself,  because  you  have  loved  me  and  believed  that 

28  I  came  forth  from  God.  From  the  Father  I  came  and  I 
entered  the  world;   again,  I  leave  the  world  and  I  go  to 

29  the   Father."     His   disciples   said,   "Now,  you   are   talking 

30  plainly  at  last,  not  speaking  in  figures.  Now  we  are  sure 
you  know  everything,  and  need  no  one  to  put  Questions  to 
you.     This  makes  us  believe  you  have  come  forth  from 

II  God."  Jesus  replied,  "You  believe  it,  at  last?  Behold,  the 
time  is  coming,  it  has  come  already,  when  you  will  be 
scattered  to  your  homes,  every  one  of  you,  leaving  me 
alone.     But   I  am  not  alone,  for  the  Father  is  with  me. 

33  I  have  said  all  this  to  you  that  in  me  you  may  have  peace;  in 
the  world  you  have  trouble,  but  courage!  I  have  conquered 
the  world.* 

31  "Now  at  last  the  Son  of  man  is  glorified,  and  in  him 

32  God   is  glorified:    [if   God   is  glorified  in  him,]    God   will 

33  glorify  him  in  Himself  and  glorify  him  at  once.  My  dear 
children,  I  am  only  to  be  with  you  a  little  longer;  then  you 
will  look  for  me,  and,  as  I  told  the  Jews  I  tell  you  now, 

34  where  I  go  you  cannot  come.  I  give  you  a  new  command,  to 
love  one  another — as  I  have  loved  you,  you  are  to  love  one 

35  another.    By  this  everyone  will  recognize  that  you  are  my 

36  disciples,  if  you  have  love  one  for  another."  "Lord,"  said 
Simon  Peter,  "where  are  you  going?"  Jesus  replied,  "I  am 
going  where  you  cannot  follow  me  at  present;  later  on  you 

37  will  follow  me."     "Lord,"  said  Peter,  "why  cannot  I  follow 

38  you  just  now?  I  will  lay  down  my  life  for  you."  Jesus 
replied,  "Lay  down  your  life  for  me?     Truly,  truly  I  tell 

*  The  sequence  of  xiii.  31  is  now  resumed  (see  above,  note  on  p.  160). 


S.  JOHN  XIV  165 

you,  before  the  cock  crows,  you  will  have   disowned  me 
thrice  over. 

ULet    not   your   hearts    be    disquieted;    you    believe — 
believe  in  God  and  also  in  me.     In  my  Father's  house 
there  are  many  abodes;   were  it  not  so,  would  I  have  told 

3  you  I  was  going  to  prepare  a  place  for  you?  And  when  I 
go  and  prepare  a  place  for  you,  I  will  come  back  and  take 

4  you  to  be  with  me,  so  that  you  may  be  where  I  am.     And 

5  you  know  the  way  to  where  I  am  going."  "Lord,"  said 
Thomas,  "we  do  not  know  where  you  are  going,  and  how 

6  are  we  to  know  the  way?"  Jesus  said  to  him,  "I  am  the 
real  and  living  way:   no  one  comes  to  the  Father  except 

7  by  means  of  me.  If  you  knew  me,  you  would  know  my 
Father  too.     You  know  him  now  and  you  have  seen  him." 

8  "Lord,"  said  Philip,  "let  us  see  the  Father;  that  is  all  we 

9  want."  Jesus  said  to  him,  "Philip,  have  I  been  with  you 
all  this  time,  and  yet  you  do  not  understand  me?  He  who 
has  seen  me  has  seen  the  Father.     What  do  you  mean  by 

10  saying,  'Let  us  see  the  Father'?  Do  you  not  believe  I  am 
in  the  Father  and  the  Father  is  in  me?  The  words  I  speak 
to  you  all  I  do  not  speak  of  my  own  accord;  it  is  the  Father 
who  remains  ever  in  me,  who  is  performing  his  own  deeds, 

11  Believe  me,  I  am  in  the  Father  and  the  Father  is  in  me: — • 

12  or  else,  believe  because  of  the  deeds  themselves.  Truly,  truly 
I  tell  you,  he  who  believes  in  me  will  do  the  very  deeds  I 
do,  and  still  greater  deeds  than  these.     For  I  am  going  to 

13  the  Father,  and  I  will  do  whatever  you  ask  in  my  name, 

14  that  the  Father  may  be  glorified  in  the  Son;  I  will  do  what- 

15  ever  you  ask  me  in  my  name.     If  you  love  me  you  will 

16  keep  my  commands,  and  I  will  ask  the  Father  to  give  you 

17  another  Helper  to  be  with  you  for  ever,  even  the  Spirit  of 
truth:  the  world  cannot  receive  him,  because  it  neither 
sees  nor  knows  him,  but  you  know  him,  because  he  remains 

18  with  you  and  will  be  within  you.     I  will  not  leave  you 

19  forlorn;  I  am  coming  to  you.  A  little  while  longer  and 
the   world   will   see    me   no    more;    but   you   will   see    me 

20  because  I  am  living  and  you  will  be  living  too.  You  will 
understand,  on  that  day,  that  I  am  in  my  Father  and  you 

21  are  in  me  and  I  am  in  you.  He  who  possesses  my  com- 
mands and  obeys  them  is  he  who  loves  me,  and  he  who 
loves  me  will  be  loved  by  my  Father,  and  I  will  love  him 

22  and  appear  to  him."  "Lord,"  said  Judas  (not  Judas  Is- 
cariot),  "why  is  it  that  you  are  to  appear  to  us,  and  not  to 

23  the  world?"  Jesus  answered,  "If  anyone  loves  me  he  will 
obey  my  word,  and  my  Father  will  love  him,  and  we  will 

24  come  to  him  and  take  up  our  abode  with  him.  He  who 
does  not  love  me  does  not  obey  my  word;  and  what  you. 


166  S.  JOHN  XVII 

hear  me  say  is  not  my  word  but  the  word  of  the  Father 
who  sent  me. 

25  I   have   told   you    all    this   while    I    am    still   with   you, 

26  but  the  Helper,  the  holy  Spirit  whom  the  Father  will  send 
in  my  name,  will  teach  you  everything  and  recall  to  you 

27  everything  I  have  said.  Peace  I  leave  to  you,  my  peace 
I  give  to  you;  I  give  it  not  as  the  world  gives  its  'Peace!' 

28  Let  not  your  hearts  be  disquieted  or  timid.  You  heard  me 
tell  you  I  was  going  away  and  coming  back  to  you;  if  you 
loved  me,  you  would  rejoice  that  I  am  going  to  the  Father 
— for  the  Father  is  greater  than  I  am. 

29  I  tell  you  this  now,  before  it  occurs,  so  that,  when  it  does 

30  occur,  you  may  believe.  I  will  no  longer  talk  much  with 
you,  for  the  Prince  of  this  world  is  coming.     He  has  no 

31  hold  on  me;  his  coming  will  only  serve  to  let  the  world 
see  that  I  love  the  Father  and  that  I  am  acting  as  the 
Father  ordered.    Rise,  let  us  be  going." 

1r^  So  Jesus  spoke;   then,  lifting  his  eyes  to  heaven,  he 
/    said:  "Father,  the  time  has  now  come;  glorify  thy  Son 

2  that  thy  Son  may  glorify  thee,  since  thou  hast  granted  him 
power  over  all  flesh  to  give  eternal  life  to  all  whom  thou 

3  hast  given  to  him.  And  this  is  eternal  life,  that  they  know 
thee,  the  only  real  God,  and  him  whom  thou  hast  sent,  even 

4  Jesus   Christ.     I   have   glorified  thee  on   earth  by  accom- 

5  plishing  the  work  thou  gavest  me  to  do;  now.  Father, 
glorify  me  in  thy  presence  with  the  glory  which  I  enjoyed 

6  in  thy  presence  before  the  world  began.  I  have  made  thy 
Name  known  to  the  men  whom  thou  hast  given  to  me 
from  the  world    (thine  they  were,  and  thou  gavest  them 

7  to  me),  and  they  have  held  to  thy  word.     They  know  now 

8  that  whatever  thou  hast  given  me  comes  from  thee,  for  I 
have  given  them  the  words  thou  gavest  me  and  they  have 
received  them;  they  are  now  sure  that  I  came  from  thee 
and  believe  that  thou  didst  send  me. 

9  I  pray  for  them — not  for  the  world  but  for  those  whom 

10  thou  hast  given  me  do  I  pray;  for  they  are  thine  (all  mine 
is  thine  and  thine  is  mine),  and  I  am  glorified  in  them. 

11  I  am  to  be  in  the  world  no  longer,  but  they  are  to  be  in 
the  world;  I  come  to  thee.  Holy  Father,  keep  them  by  the 
power  of  thy  Name  which  thou  hast  given  me,  that  they 

12  may  be  one  as  we  are  one.  When  I  was  with  them, 
I  kept  them  by  the  power  of  thy  Name  which  thou 
hast  given  me;  I  guarded  them,  and  not  one  of 
them     perished — only     the     son     of     perdition,     that     the 

13  scripture  might  be  fulfilled.  But  now  I  come  to  thee  (I 
speak  thus  in  the  world  that  they  may  have  my  joy  com- 

14  plete  within  them).    I  have  given  them  thy  word,  and  the 


S.  JOHN  XVIII  167 

world  has  hated  them  because  they  do  not  belong  to  the 

15  world  any  more  than  I  belong  to  the  world.  I  pray  not 
that  thou  wilt  take  them  out  of  the  world,  but  that  thou 

16  wilt  keep  them  from  the  evil  one.     They  do  not  belong  to 

17  the   world   any   more   than   I   belong   to  the  world.     Con- 

18  secrate  them  by  thy  truth:  thy  word  is  truth.  As  thou 
hast  sent  me  into  the  world,  so  have  I  sent  them  into  the 

19  world,  and  for  their  sake  I  consecrate  myself  that  they 
may  be  consecrated  by  the  truth. 

20  Nor  do  I  pray  for  them  alone,  but  for  all  who  believe  in 

21  me  by  their  spoken  word;  may  they  all  be  one!  As  thou, 
Father,  art  in  me  and  I  in  thee,  so  may  they  be  in  us — 

22  that  the  world  may  believe  thou  hast  sent  me.  Yea,  I 
have  given  them  the  glory  thou  gavest  me,  that  they  may 

23  be  one  as  we  are  one — I  in  them  and  thou  in  me — that 
they  may  be  made  perfectly  one,  so  that  the  world  may 
recognize  that  thou  hast  sent  me  and  hast  loved  them  as 

24  thou  hast  loved  me.  Father,  it  is  my  will  that  these,  thy 
gift  to  me,  may  be  beside  me  where  I  am,  to  behold  my 
glory  which  thou  hast  given  me,  because  thou  lovedst  me 

25  before  the  foundation  of  the  world.  O  just  Father,  though 
the  world  has  not  known  thee,  I  have  known*  thee,  and 

26  they  have  known  that  thou  hast  sent  me;  so  have  I 
declared,  so  will  I  declare,  thy  Name  to  them,  that  the  love 
with  which  thou  hast  loved  me  may  be  in  them,  and  I  in 
them." 


1  O  Having  said  this,  Jesus  went  out  with  his  disciples 
'•  O  across  the  Kidron  ravine  to  an  orchard,  which  he 
2  entered  in  the  company  of  his  disciples.  Judas  the  traitor 
also  knew  the  spot,  for  Jesus  and  his  disciples  often  met 
.3  there.  So  after  procuring  troops  and  some  attendants 
belonging  to  the  high  priests  and  the  Pharisees,  Judas  went 

4  there  with  lanterns  and  torches  and  weapons.  Then  Jesus, 
who  knew  everything  that  was  to  happen  to  him,  came 
forward    and    asked    them,    "Who    are    you    looking    for?" 

5  "Jesus  the  Nazarene,"  they  replied.    Jesus  said,  "I  am  he." 

6  (And  Judas  the  traitor  was  standing  beside  them.)  When 
he   said,   "I   am   he,"   they   fell  back  and   dropped   to   the 

7  ground;  so  he  asked  them  once  more,  "Who  are  you  looking 

8  for?"  And  when  they  replied,  "Jesus  the  Nazarene,"  he 
answered,  "I  told  you  that  I  am  he;   if  it  is  me  you  are 

9  looking  for,  let  these  men  get  away"  (this  was  to  fulfil 
his  own  word:   'I  did  not  lose  a  single  one  of  those  whom 

*  The  English  perfect  is  the  least  inadequate  rendering  of  the  Greek 
aorist  here.  Luther,  however,  prefers  the  present.  "  leh  kenne  Dich. 
und  diese  erkennen.  .  .  ." 


168  S.  JOHN  XVIII 

10  thou  didst  give  me').  Then  Simon  Peter,  who  had  a  sword, 
drew  it  and  struck  the  high  priest's   servant,  cutting  off 

11  his  right  ear  (the  servant's  name  was  Malchus);  where- 
upon Jesus  said  to  Peter,  "Sheathe  your  sword.  Am  I  not 
to  drink  the  cup  which- the  Father  has  handed  me?" 

12  So    the    troops    and    their    commander    and    the    Jewish 

13  attendants  seized  Jesus,  bound  him,  and  brought  him  first 
of  all  to  Annas   (for  Annas  was  the  father-in-law  of  Caia- 

14  phas,  who  was  high  priest  that  year — the  Caiaphas  who 
had  advised  the  Jews  that  it  v/as  for  their  interests  that 

19  one  man  should  die  for  the  people).*  Then  the  high 
priest  questioned  Jesus  about  his  disciples  and  about  his 

20  teaching.  Jesus  answered,  "I  have  spoken  openly  to  the 
world;  I  have  always  taught  in  the  synagogues  and  in  the 
temple,   where   all   Jews   gather;    I   have   said   nothing   in 

21  secret.     Why  ask  me?     Ask  my  hearers  what  I  have  said 

22  to  them;'  they  know  what  I  said."  As  he  said  this,  one  of 
the  attendants  who  stood  by  gave  him  a  blow,  saying,  "Is 

23  that  how  you  answer  the  high  priest?"  "If  I  have  said 
anything  wrong,"  replied  Jesus,  "prove  it;   if  I  said  what 

24  was  true,  why  strike  me?"     Then  Annas  had  him  bound 

15  and  sent  him  to  Caiaphas  the  high  priest.  Simon  Peter 
followed  Jesus  along  with  another  disciple;  and  as  this 
disciple  was  an  acquaintance  of  the  high  priest,  he  passed 

16  into  the  courtyard  of  the  high  priest  with  Jesus,  while 
Peter  stood  outside  at  the  door.  Then  this  other  disciple, 
who  was  an  acquaintance  of  the  high  priest,  came  out  and 
spoke  to  the  woman  at  the  door,  and  brought  Peter  inside. 

17  The  maidservant  at  the  door  then  said  to  Peter,  "Are  you 

18  not  one  of  this  fellow's  disciples?"  He  said,  "No."  Now 
the  servants  and  the  attendants  were  standing  and  warm- 
ing themselves  at  a  charcoal  fire  which  they  had  lit  (for 
it  was  cold),  and  Peter  also  stood  beside  them  and  warmed 

25  himself.     They  asked  him,   "Are  you   not  one  of  his  dis- 

26  ciples?"  He  denied  it,  saying,  "No."  Said  one  of  the  high 
priest's  servants,  a  kinsman  of  the  man  whose  ear  had  been 
cut   off  by   Peter,   "Did    I    not   see   you   with    him    in   the 

27  orchard?"  Again  Peter  denied  it.  And  at  that  very 
moment  the  cock  crowed. 

28  Then  from  the  house  of  Caiaphas  they  took  Jesus  to  the 
praetorium.  (It  was  early  morning.)  They  would  not 
enter    the   praetorium   themselves,   in   case   of  being   cere- 

29  monially  defiled,  for  they  wanted  to  eat  the  passover;  so 
Pilate  came  outside  to  them  and  asked,  "What  charge  do 

30  you  bring  against  this  man?"  They  retorted,  "If  he  had 
not  been  a  criminal,  we  would  not  have  handed  him  over 

*  Transposing  vers.  19-24  to  a  position  between  vers.  14  and  15. 


S.  JOHN  XIX  169 

31  to  you."  Then  said  Pilate,  "Take  him  yourselves,  and  sen- 
tence him  according  to  your  own  Law."     The  Jews  said, 

32  "We  have  no  right  to  put  anyone  to  death"  (that  the  word 
of  Jesus  might  be  fulfilled,  by  which  he  had  indicated  the 

33  kind  of  death  he  was  to  die).  So  Pilate  went  back  inside 
the   praetorium  and  called  Jesus,  saying,   "Then  you   are 

34  king  of  the  Jews?"  Jesus  replied,  "Are  you  saying  this 
of  your  own  accord,  or  did  other  people  tell  you  about  me?" 

35  "Am  I  a  Jew?"  said  Pilate.  "Your  own  nation  and  the 
high   priests   have   handed   you   over   to   me.     What   have 

36  you  done?"  Jesus  replied,  "My  realm  does  not  belong  to 
this  world;  if  my  realm  did  belong  to  this  world,  my  men 
would  have  fought  to  prevent  me  being  handed   over  to 

37  the  Jews.  No,  my  realm  lies  elsewhere."  "So  you  are  a 
king?"  said  Pilate,  "you!"  "Certainly,"  said  Jesus,  "I  am 
a  king.  This  is  why  I  was  born,  this  is  why  I  came  into 
the  world,  to  bear  testimony  to  the  truth.     Everyone  who 

38  belongs  to  the  truth  listens  to  my  voice."  "Truth!"  said 
Pilate,  "what  is  truth!"  With  these  words  he  went  outside 
to  the  Jews  again  and  told  them,  "I  cannot  find  anything 

39  wrong  about  him.  But  it  is  your  custom  that  I  should 
release  a  prisoner  for  you  at  the  passover.     Is  it  your  will 

40  that  I  release  you  the  king  of  the  Jews?"  Again  they 
yelled,  "No,  not  him!  Bar-Abbas!"  Now  Bar- Abbas  was 
a  robber. 

^  1  Q  '^^^^^"  Pilate  took  Jesus  and  had  him  scourged.  And 
A  «^  the  soldiers  twisted  some  thorns  into  a  crown  and  put 

3  it  on  his  head,  and  arrayed  him  in  a  purple  robe,  marching 
up  to  him  and  shouting,   "Hail,   king  of  the  Jews!" — and 

4  striking  him.  Again  Pilate  went  out  and  said  to  them, 
"Look,  I  am  bringing  him  out  to  you.     Understand,  I  can- 

5  not  find  anything  wrong  about  him."  So  out  came  Jesus, 
wearing   the   crown   of   thorns   and   the   purple   robe;    and 

6  Pilate  said,  "Here  the  man*  is!"  Now  when  the  high 
priests  and  their  attendants  saw  him,  they  yelled,  "Crucify 
him,   crucify  him!"     Pilate   said,   "Take   him   and   crucify 

7  him  yourselves!  I  find  nothing  wrong  about  him."  The 
Jews  retorted,  "But  we  have  a  Law,  and  by  [our]  Law 
he  is  bound  to  die,  because  he  has  made  himself  out  to  be 

8  God's    Son."     Now   when    Pilate   heard   that,   he   was   still 

9  more  afraid;  he  went  inside  the  praetorium  again  and 
asked  Jesus,  "Where  do  you  come  from?"     Jesus  made  no 

10  reply.  Then  Pilate  said,  "You  will  not  speak  to  me?  Do 
you  not  know  it  is  in  my  power  to  release  you  or  to  crucify 

*  The  unconscious  force  of  Pilate's  words,  it  has  been  suggested, 
might  be  brought  out  by  rendering  either  "  Here  is  the  man!  "  or,  "  Here 
is  the  Man!  " 


170  S.  JOHN  XIX« 

11  you?"  Jesus  answered,  "You  would  have  no  power  over 
me,  unless  it  had  been  granted  you  from  above.     So  you 

12  are  less  guilty  than  he  who  betrayed  me  to  you."  This 
made  Pilate  anxious  to  release  him,  but  the  Jews  yelled, 
"If  you  release  him,  you  are  no  friend  of  Caesar's!     Any- 

13  one  who  makes  himself  a  king  is  against  Caesar!"  On 
hearing  this,  Pilate  brought  Jesus  out  and  seated  him  on 
the  tribunal  at  a  spot  called  the  'mosaic  pavement' — the 

14  Hebrew  name  is  Gabbatha  (it  was  the  day  of  Preparation 
for  the  passover,  about  noon).     "There  is  your  king!"  he 

15  said  to  the  Jews.  Then  they  yelled,  "Off  with  him!  Off 
with  him!  Crucify  him!"  "Crucify  your  king?"  said 
Pilate.     The  high  priests  retorted,  "We  have  no  king  but 

16  Caesar!"  Then  Pilate  handed  him  over  to  them  to  be 
crucified. 

17  So  they  took  Jesus,  and  he  went  away,  carrying  the 
cross    by    himself,    to    the    spot    called    the    'place    of    the 

18  skuir — the  Hebrew  name  is  Golgotha;  there  they  crucified 
him,  along  with  two  others,  one  on  each  side  and  Jesus 

19  in  the  middle.  Pilate  had  written  an  inscription  to  be 
put  on  the  cross;  what  he  wrote  was,  jesus  the  xazarexe, 

20  THE  KING  OF  THE  JEWS.  Now  many  of  the  Jews  read  this 
inscription,  for  the  place  where  Jesus  had  been  crucified 
was    close    to    the    city;    besides,    the    inscription    was    in 

21  Hebrew,  Latin,  and  Greek.  So  the  Jewish  high  priests 
said  to  Pilate,  "Do  not  write,  the  king  of  the  jews;  write, 

22  he  said  I  AM  THE  KING  OF  THE  JEWS."  Pilate  replied, 
"What  I  have  written,  I  have  written." 

23'  Now  when  the  soldiers  crucified  Jesus  they  took  his 
clothes  and  divided  them  into  four  parts,  one  for  each 
soldier.     But  as  the  tunic  was  seamless,  woven  right  down 

24  in  a  single  piece,  they  said  to  themselves,  "Don't  let  us 
tear  it.  Let  us  draw  lots  to  see  who  gets  it"  (that  the 
scripture  might  be  fulfilled, 

they  distributed  my  clothes  among  them, 
and  drew  lots  for  my  raiment). 
This  was  what  the  soldiers  did. 

25  Now  beside  the  cross  of  Jesus  stood  his  mother  and  his 
mother's   sister.   Mary   the   wife   of   Clopas,    and    Mary   of 

26  Magdala.  So  when  Jesus  saw  his  mother  and  his  favourite 
disciple   standing   near,   he  said   to  his   mother,   "Woman, 

27  there  is  your  son!"  Then  he  said  to  the  disciple,  "Son, 
there  is  your  mother!"     And  from  that  hour  the  disciple 

28  took  her  to  his  home.  After  that,  as  Jesus  knew  that  every- 
thing was  now  finished  and  fulfilled,  he  said   (to  fulfil  the 

29  scripture),  "7  am  thirsty.''  A  jug  full  of  vinegar  was  lying 
there;  so  they  put  a  sponge  full  of  vinegar  on  a  spear  and 

30  held  it  to  his  lips.     And  when  Jesus  took  the  vinegar,  he 


S.  JOHN  XX  171 

said,   "It  is  finished,"  bowed  his  head,  and  gave  up  his 
spirit. 

31  Now,  as  it  was  the  day  of  Preparation,  in  order  to  pre- 
vent the  bodies  remaining  on  the  cross  during  the  sabbath 
(for  that  sabbath-day  was  a  great  day),  the  Jews  asked 
Pilate  to  have  the  legs  broken  and  the  bodies  removed. 

32  So  the  soldiers  went  and  broke  the  legs  of  the  first  man  and 

33  of  the  other  man  who  had  been  crucified  along  with  him; 
but  when  they  came  to  Jesus  and  saw  he  was  dead  already, 

34  they  did  not  break  his  legs;  only,  one  of  the  soldiers 
pricked   his  side  with  a  lance,   and   out  came  blood   and 

35  water  in  a  moment.  He  who  saw  it  has  borne  witness 
(his  witness  is  true;   God  knows  he  is  telling  the  truth), 

36  that  you  may  believe.  For  this  took  place  that  the  scrip- 
ture might  be  fulfilled, 

Not  a  bone  of  him  will  be  broken. 

37  And  another  scripture  also  says. 

They  shall  look  on  him  whom  they  have  impaled. 

38  After  this,  Joseph  of  Arimathaea,  a  disciple  of  Jesus 
but  a  secret  disciple — for  fear  of  the  Jews — asked  Pilate 
for  permission  to  remove  the  body  of  Jesus.     And  Pilate 

39  allowed  him.  So  he  went  and  removed  the  body,  accom- 
panied by  Nicodemus  (he  who  had  first  come  to  Jesus  by 
night)   who  brought  a  mixture  of  myrrh  and  aloes,  about 

40  a  hundred  pounds  of  it;  they  took  and  wrapped  up  the 
body  of  Jesus  in  the  spices  and  in  bandages,  according  to 

41  the  Jewish  custom  of  burial.  Now  at  the  spot  where  he 
had  been  crucified  there  was  an  orchard,  and  in  the  orchard 

42  a  new  tomb  where  no  one  had  yet  been  laid;  so  they  put 
Jesus  there,  since  it  was  the  Jewish  day  of  Preparation, 
seeing  that  the  tomb  was  close  by. 

O/^  On  the  first  day  of  the  week  Mary  of  Magdala  went 
^y^  early  to  the  tomb,  when  it  was  still  dark;  but  as  she 

2  saw  the  boulder  had  been  removed  from  the  tomb,  she  ran 
off  to  Simon  Peter  and  to  the  other  disciple,  the  favourite 
of  Jesus,  telling  them,  "They  have  taken  the  master  out 
of  the  tomb,  and  we  do  not  know  where  they  have  put 

3  him!"     So   Peter  and   the   other  disciple  set   out  for  the 

4  tomb;  they  both  started  to  run,  but  the  other  disciple  ran 

5  ahead,  faster  than  Peter,  and  got  to  the  tomb  first.  He 
glanced   in   and   saw  the  bandages   lying   on   the   ground, 

6  but  he  did  not  go  inside.  Then  Simon  Peter  came  after 
him,  and  went  inside  the  tomb;   he  noticed  not  only  that 

7  the  bandages  were  lying  on  the  ground  but  that  the  napkin 
which  had  been   round  his  head  was  folded  up  by  itself, 

8  instead  of  lying  beside  tht  other  bandages.  Upon  this  the 
other  disciple,  who  had  reached  the  tomb  first,  went  inside 


172  S.  JOHN  XX 

9  too,  and  when  he  saw  for  himself  he  was  convincea.     (For 
as  yet  they  did  not  understand  the  Scripture  that  he  must 

10  rise  from  the  dead.)     Then  the  disciples  returned  home; 

11  but  Mary  stood  sobbing  outside  the  tomb.     As  she  sobbed, 

12  she  glanced  inside  the  tomb  and  noticed  two  angels  in 
white,  sitting  where  the  body  of  Jesus  had  lain,  one  at  the 

13  head  and  one  at  the  feet.  "Woman,"  they  said  to  her, 
"why  are  you  sobbing?"  She  said,  "Because  they  have 
taken  away  my  master,   and   I   do  not  know  where  they 

14  have  put  him!*'  With  these  words  she  turned  round  and 
noticed  Jesus  standing — though  she  did  not  know  it  was 

15  Jesus.  "Woman,"  said  Jesus,  "why  are  you  sobbing?  Who 
are  you  looking  for?"  Supposing  he  was  the  gardener,  she 
said,  "Oh,  sir,  if  you  carried  him  away,  tell  me  where  you 

16  put  him,  and  I  will  remove  him."  "Mary!"  said  Jesus. 
She  started  round  and  said,  "Rabboni!"    (a  Hebrew  word 

17  meaning  'teacher').  Jesus  said,  "Cease  clinging  to  me.  I 
have  not  ascended  yet  to  the  Father,  but  go  to  my  brothers 
and  tell  them,  'I  am  ascending  to  my  Father  and  yours, 

18  to  my  God  and  yours.'  "  Away  went  Mary  of  Magdala  to 
the  disciples  with  the  news,  "I  have  seen  the  Lord!" — 
telling  them  what  he  had  said  to  her. 

19  On  the  evening  of  that  same  day — the  first  day  of  the 
week — though  the  disciples  had  gathered  within  closed 
doors  for  fear  of  the  Jews,  Jesus  entered  and  stood  among 

20  them,  saying,  "Peace  be  with  you!"  So  saying  he  showed 
them  his  hands  and  his  side;  and  when  the  disciples  saw 

21  the  Lord,  they  rejoiced.  Jesus  then  repeated,  "Peace  be 
with  you!      As  the  Father  sent  me  forth,   I   am   sending 

22  you  forth."     And  with  these  words  he  breathed  on  them, 

23  and  added,  "Receive  the  holy  Spirit!  If  you  remit  the 
sins  of  any,  they  are  remitted:  if  you  retain  them,  they  are 
retained." 

24  Now  Thomas,   one   of   the   twelve,   who  was   called   'the 

25  Twin,'  was  not  with  them  when  Jesus  came;  and  when  the 
rest  of  the  disciples  told  him,  "We  have  seen  the  Lord," 
he  said,  "Unless  I  see  his  hands  with  the  mark  of  the 
nails,  and  put  my  finger  where  the  nails  were,  and  put  my 

26  hand  into  his  side,  I  refuse  to  believe  it."  Eight  days 
afterwards  his  disciples  were  together  again,  and  Thomas 
with  them.     Though  the  doors  were  closed,  Jesus  entered 

27  and  stood  among  them,  saying,  "Peace  be  with  you!"  Then 
he  said  to  Thomas,  "Look  at  my  hands,  put  your  finger 
here;    and  put  your  hand  here  into  my  side;    cease  your 

28  unbelief  and  believe."     Thomas  answered  him,  "My  Lord 

29  and  my  God!"  Jesus  said  to  him,  "You  believe  because 
you  have  seen  me?  Blessed  be  those  who  believe  though 
they  have  never  seen  me." 


S.  JOHN  XXI  173 

30  Many  another  Sign  did  Jesus  perform  in  presence  of  his 

31  disciples,  which  is  not  recorded  in  this  book;  but  these 
Signs  are  recorded  so  that  you.  may  believe  Jesus  is  the 
Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  and  believing  may  have  life  through 
his  Name. 

O"!    After  that,  Jesus  disclosed  himself  once  more  to  the 
^  1  disciples  at  the  sea  of  Tiberias.     It  was  in  this  way. 

2  Simon  Peter,  Thomas  (who  was  called  'the  Twin'), 
Nathanael  from  Cana  in  Galilee,  the  two  sons  of  Zebedaeus, 

3  and  two  other  disciples  of  his,  were  all  together.  Simon 
Peter  said  to  them,  "I  am  going  to  fish."  They  said,  "We 
are  coming  with  you  too."     Off  they  went  and  embarked 

4  in  the  boat,  but  that  night  they  caught  nothing.  Now  at 
break  of  day  Jesus  was  standing  on  the  beach  (though  the 

5  disciples  did  not  know  it  was  Jesus).     "Lads,"  said  Jesus, 

6  "have  you  got  anything?"  "No,"  they  answered.  So  he 
told  them,  "Throw  your  net  on  the  right  of  the  boat,  and 
you  will  have  a  take."     At  this  they  threw  the  net,  and 

7  now  they  could  not  haul  it  in  for  the  mass  of  fish.  So  the 
disciple  who  was  Jesus'  favourite  said  to  Peter,  "It  is  the 
Lord!"  Hearing  it  was  the  Lord,  Simon  Peter  threw  on 
his  blouse  (he  was  stripped  for  work)  and  jumped  into  the 

8  water,  while  the  rest  of  the  disciples  came  ashore  in  the 
punt   (they  were  not  far  from  land,  only  about  a  hundred 

9  yards),  dragging  their  netful  of  fish.  When  they  got  to 
land,  they  saw  a  charcoal  fire  burning,  with  fish  cooking 

10  on  it,  and  some  bread.     Jesus  said  to  them,  "Bring  some 

11  of  the  fish  you  have  just  caught."  So  Peter  went  aboard 
and  hauled  the  net  ashore,  full  of  large  fish,  a  hundred 
and  fifty  three  of  them;   but  for  all  their  number  the  net 

12  was  not  torn.  Jesus  said,  "Come  and  breakfast."  (Not 
one  of  the  disciples  dared  to  ask  him  who  he  was;    they 

13  knew  it  was  the  Lord.)     Jesus  went  and  took  the  bread 

14  and  gave  it  to  them,  and  the  fish  too.  This  was  the  third 
time,  now,  that  Jesus  appeared  to  the  disciples  after  rising 
from  the  dead. 

15  Then  after  breakfast  Jesus  said  to  Simon  Peter,  "Simon, 
son  of  John,  do  you  love  me  more  than  the  others  do?" 
"Why,  Lord,"  he  said,  "you  know  I  love  you."     "Then  feed 

16  my  lambs,"  said  Jesus.  Again  he  asked  him,  for  the  second 
time,  "Simon,  son  of  John,  do  you  love  me?"  "Why,  Lord," 
he  said,  "you  know  I  love  you."     "Then  be  a  shepherd  to 

17  my  sheep,"  said  Jesus.  For  the  third  time  he  asked  him, 
"Simon,  son  of  John,  do  you  love  me?"  Now  Peter  was 
vexed  at  being  asked  a  third  time,  "Do  you  love  me?"  So 
he  replied;    "Lord,   you   know  everything,   you   can   see   I 

18  love  you."    Jesus  said,  "Then  feed  my  sheep.     Truly,  truly 


174  S.  JOHN  XXI 

I  tell  you,  you  put  on  your  own  girdle  and  went  wherever 
you  wanted,  when  you  were  young;  but  when  you  grow 
old,  you  will  stretch  out  your  hands  for  someone  to  gird 
you,  and  you  will  be  taken  where  you  have  no  wish  to  go" 

19  (he  said  this  to  indicate  the  kind  of  death  by  which  Peter 

20  would  glorify  God);  then  he  added,  "Follow  me."  Peter 
turned  round  and  saw  that  the  favourite  disciple  of  Jesus 
was  following,  the  disciple  who  had  leant  on  his  breast  at 
supper  and  put  the  question,  "Lord,  who  is  to  betray  you?" 

21  So,  on  catching  sight  of  him,  Peter  said  to  Jesus,  "And 

22  what  about  him.  Lord?"  Jesus  replied,  "If  I  choose  that  he 
should  survive  till  I  come  back,  what  does  that  matter  to 

23  you?  Follow  me  yourself."  This  started  the  report  among 
the  brotherhood  that  the  said  disciple  was  not  to  die. 
Jesus,  however,  did  not  say  he  was  not  to  die;  what  he 
said  was,  "If  I  choose  that  he  should  survive  till  I  come 
back,  what  does  that  matter  to  you?" 

24  This  was  the  disciple  who  bears  testimony  to  these  facts 
and  who  wrote  them  down;  his  testimony,  we  know,  is 
true. 

25  Now  there  is  much  else  that  Jesus  did — so  much,  that  if 
it  were  written  down  in  detail,  I  do  not  suppose  the  world 
itself  could  hold  the  written  records. 


1 


THE 

ACTS  OF  THE  APOSTLES 

In  my  former  volume,  Theophilus,   I  treated  all  that 
Jesus  began  by  doing  and  teaching  down  to  the  day  when, 
after  issuing  his  orders  by  the  holy  Spirit  to  the  disciples 

3  whom  he  had  chosen,  he  was  taken  up  to  heaven.  After 
his  sufferings  he  had  shown  them  that  he  was  alive  by 
a  number  of  proofs,  revealing  himself  to  them  for  forty 

4  days  and  discussing  the  affairs  of  God's  Realm.  Also, 
as  he  ate  with  them,  he  charged  them  not  to  leave  Jeru- 
salem but  to  wait  for  what  the  Father  promised — "for  what 

5  you  have  heard  me  speak  of,"  said  he;  "for  John  baptized 
with   water,   but  not  many  days   after   this  you   shall  be 

6  baptized  with  the  holy  Spirit."  Now  when  they  met,  they 
asked  him,  "Lord,  is  this  the  time  you  are  going  to  restore 

7  the  Realm  to  Israel?"  But  he  told  them,  "It  is  not  for 
you  to  know  the  course  and  periods  of  time  that  the  Father 

8  has  fixed  by  his  own  authority.  You  will  receive  power 
when  the  holy  Spirit  comes  upon  you,  and  you  will  be  my 
witnesses  at  Jerusalem,  throughout  all  Judaea  and  Samaria, 

9  and  to  the  end  of  the  earth."  On  saying  this  he  was  lifted 
up  while  they  looked  on,  and  a  cloud  took  him  out  of  sight. 

10  As  he  went  up,  their  eyes  were  fixed  on  heaven;  but  just 

11  then  two  men  stood  beside  them  dressed  in  white,  who 
said,  "Men  of  Galilee,  why  do  you  stand  looking  up  to 
heaven?  This  Jesus  who  has  been  taken  from  you  into 
heaven  will  come  back,  just  as  you  have  seen  him  depart 

12  to  heaven."  Then  they  made  their  way  back  to  Jerusalem 
from   the   hill   called    'The    Olive-Orchard';    it   is   close   to 

13  Jerusalem,  only  a  sabbath  day's  journey  from  it.  On  enter- 
ing the  city  they  went  to  the  upper  room  where  they  were 
in  the  habit  of  meeting;  there  were  Peter,  John,  James, 
Andrew,  Philip  and  Thomas,  Bartholomew  and  Matthew, 
James   (the  son  of  Alphaeus)   and  Simon  who  had  been  a 

14  Zealot,  with  Judas  the  son  of  James.  All  these  men  re- 
sorted with  one  mind  to  prayer,  together  with  the  women, 
with  Mary  the  mother  of  Jesus  and  with  his  brothers. 

15  Now  during  these  days  Peter  stood  up  among  the 
brothers    (there    was    a    crowd    of    about    a    hundred    and 

16  twenty  persons  all  together).  "My  brothers,"  said  he,  "it 
had  to  be  fulfilled,  that  scripture  which  the  holy  Spirit 
uttered  beforehand  by  the  lips  of  David  with  regard  to 
Judas  who   acted  as  guide   to   those   who   arrested   Jesus. 

17  Judas  did  enter  our  number,  he  did  get  his  allotted  share 

175 


176  THE  ACTS  II 

18  of  this  our  ministry.  With  the  money  paid  him  for  his 
crime  he  purchased  an  estate;  but  swelling  up  he  burst  in 

19  U\o,  and  all  his  bowels  poured  out — a  fact  which  became 
known  to  all  the  residents  in  Jerusalem,  so  that  the  estate 
got  the  name,  in  their  language,  of  Akeldamach  or  The 

20  Ground  of  Blood.    Now  it  is  written  in  the  book  of  psalms. 

Desolate  be  his  residence, 

may  no  one  dwell  in  it:  ^ 

also, 

let  another  man  take  over  his  charge. 

21  Well  then,  of  the  men  who  have  been  associated  with  us 
all  the  time  the  Lord  Jesus  went   in  and  out  among  us, 

22  from  the  baptism  of  John  down  to  the  day  when  he  was 
taken  up  from  us — of  these  men  one  must  join  us  as  a 

23  witness  to  his  resurrection."  So  they  brought  forward 
two  men,  Joseph  called  Bar-Sabbas  (surnamed  Justus)  and 

24  Matthias;  and  they  prayed,  "O  Lord,  who  readest  the  hearts 
of  all,  do  thou  single  cut  from  these  two  men  him  whom 

25  thou  hast  chosen  to  fill  the  place  in  this  apostolic  ministry 

26  which  Judas  left  in  order  to  go  to  his  own  place."  Then 
they  cast  lots  for  them,  and  the  lot  fell  upon  Matthias, 
who  w^as  assigned  his  position  with  the  eleven  apostles. 

2  During  the  course  of  the  day  of  Pentecost  they  were  all 
together,  when  suddenly  there  came  a  sound  from  heaven 
like  a  violent  blast  of  wind,  which  filled  the  v.-hole  house 

3  where  they  were  seated.    They  saw  tongues  like  flames  dis- 

4  tributing  themselves,  one  resting  on  the  head  of  each,  and 
they  were  all  filled  with  the  holy  Spirit — they  began  to 
speak  in  foreign  tongues,  as  the   Spirit   enabled  them  to 

5  express   themselves.      Now   there   were   devout   Jews   from 

6  every  nation  under  heaven  staying  in  Jerusalem.  So  when 
this  sound  was  heard,  the  multitude  gathered  in  bewilder- 
ment, for  each  heard  them  speaking  in  his  own  language. 

7  All    were    amazed    and    astonished.      "Are    these    not    all 

8  Galileans,"  they  said,  "who  are  speaking?     Then  how  is  it 

9  that  each  of  us  hears  them  in  his  own  native  tongue?  Par- 
thians,    Medes,    Elamites,    residents    in    Mesopotamia,    in 

10  Judaea  and  Cappadocia,  in  Pontus  and  Asia,  in  Phrygia 
and  Pamphylia,  in  Egypt  and  the  districts  of  Libya  round 

11  Gyrene,  visitors  from  Rome,  Jews  and  proselytes,  Cretans 
and  Arabians,  we  hear  these  men  talking  of  the  triumphs 

12  of  God  in  our  own  languages!"  They  were  all  amazed  and 
quite  at  a  loss.     "What  can  it  mean?"  they  said  to  one  an- 

13  other.     Some  others  sneered,  "They  are  brim-full  of  new 

14  wine!"  But  Peter  stood  up  along  with  the  eleven,  and 
raising  his  voice  he  addressed  them  thus:  "Men  of  Judaea 
and  residents  in  Jerusalem,  let  every  one  of  you  understand 


THE"  ACTS  II  177 

15  this — attend  to  what  I  say:   these  men  are  not  drunk,  as 

16  you  imagine.  Why,  it  is  only  nine  in  the  morning!  No, 
this  is  what  was  predicted  by  the  prophet  Joel — 

17  In  the  last  days,  saith  God,  then  will  I  pou7'  out  my  Spirit 

upon  all  flesh, 
your  sons  and  daughters  shall  prophesy, 
your  young  men  shall  see  visions, 
your  old  men  shall  dream  dreams: 

18  on  my  very  slaves  and  slave-girls  in  those  days  will  I 

pour  out  my  Spirit, 
and  they  shall  prophesy. 

19  And  I  tvill  display  tvonders  in  heaven  above 

and  signs  on  earth  below, 
blood  and  fire  and  vapour  of  smoke: 

20  the  sun  shall  be  changed  into  darkness 
and  the  moon  into  blood, 

ere  the  great,  open  Day  of  the  Lord  arrives. 

21  And  everyone  who  invokes  the  name  of  the  Lord  shall  be 

saved. 

22  Men  of  Israel,  listen  to  my  words.  Jesus  the  Nazarene,  a 
man  accredited  to  you  by  God  through  miracles,  wonders, 
and  signs  which  God  performed  by  him  among  you    (as 

23  you  yourselves  know),  this  Jesus,  betrayed  in  the  pre- 
destined course  of  God's  deliberate  purpose,  you  got  wicked 

24  men  to  nail  to  the  cross  and  murder;  but  God  raised  him 
by  checking  the  pangs   of  death.     Death   could   not  hold 

25  him.    For  David  says  of  him, 

I  saw  the  Lord  before  me  evermore; 

lest  I  be  shaken,  he  is  at  my  right  hand. 

26  My  heart  is  glad, 
my  tongue  exults, 

my  very  flesh  will  rest  in  hope, 
2V  because  thou  wilt  not  forsake  my  soul  in  the  grave, 

nor  let  thy  holy  one  suffer  decay. 

28  Thou  hast  made  knoivn  to  me  the  paths  of  life, 
thou  vjilt  fill  me  with  delight  in  thy  presence. 

29  Brothers,  I  can  speak  quite  plainly  to  you  about  the 
patriarch  David;  he  died  and  was  buried  and  his  tomb  re- 

30  mains  with  us  to  this  day.  (He  was  a  prophet;  he  knew 
God  had  sivorn  an  oath  to  hijn  that  he  would  seat  one  of 

31  his  descendants  on  his  throne:'^  so  he  spoke  with  a  pre- 
vision of  the  resurrection  of  the  Christ,  when  he  said  that 
he  loas  not  forsaken  in  the  grave  nor  did  his  flesh  suffer 

32  decay.    This  Jesus  God  raised,  as  we  can  all  bear  witness. 

33  Uplifted  then  by  God's  right  hand,  and  receiving  from  the 
Father  the  long-promised  holy  Spirit,  he  has  poured  on  us 

*  Oraitting  [t6  /card  crdpKa  avacrT-qaeLv  top  XpLO-TOp], 


178  THE  ACTS  III 

34  what  you  now  see  and  hear.)  For  it  was  not  David  who 
ascended  to  heaven;  David  says, 

The  Loi'd  said  to  my  Lord,  'Sit  at  my  right  hand, 

35  till  I  make  your  enemies  a  footstool  for  your  feeV. 

36  So  let  all  the  house  of  Israel  understand  beyond  a  doubt 
that  God  has  made  him  both  Lord  and  Christ,  this  very 

37  Jesus  whom  you  have  crucified."  When  they  heard  this, 
it  went  straight  to  their  hearts;  they  said  to  Peter  and 
the  rest  of  the  apostles,  "Brothers,  what  are  we  to  do?" 

38  "Repent,"  said  Peter,  "let  each  of  you  be  baptized  in  the 
name  of  Jesus  Christ  for  the  remission  of  your  sins;   then 

39  you  will  receive  the  gift  of  the  holy  Spirit.  For  the 
promise  is  meant  for  you  and  for  your  children  and  for 
all  who  are  far  off,  for  anyone  whom  the  Lord  our  God 

40  may  call  to  himself."  And  with  many  another  appeal  he 
urged   and  entreated   them.     "Save  yourselves,"   he   cried, 

41  "from  this  crooked  generation!"  So  those  who  accepted 
what  he  said  were  baptized;    about  three  thousand  souls 

42  were  brought  in,  that  day.  They  devoted  themselves  to 
the   instruction   given  by  the  apostles   and   to  fellowship, 

43  breaking  bread  and  praying  together.  Awe  fell  on  every- 
one, and  many  wonders  and  signs  were  performed  by  the 

44  apostles  [in  Jerusalem].    The  believers*  all  kept  together; 

45  they  shared  all  they  had  with  one  another,  they  would 
sell  their  possessions  and  goods  and  distribute  the  proceeds 

46  among  all,  as  anyone  might  be  in  need.  Day  after  day 
they  resorted  with  one  accord  to  the  temple  and  broke 
bread  together  in  their  own  homes;   they  ate  with  a  glad 

47  and  simple  heart,  praising  God  and  looked  on  with  favour 
by  all  the  people.  Meantime  the  Lord  added  the  saved 
daily  to  their  number,  t 

3  Peter  and  John  were  on  their  way  up  to  the  temple 
for  the  hour  of  prayer  at  three  in  the  afternoon,  when  a 
man  lame  from  birth  was  carried  past,  who  used  to  be  laid 
every  day  at  what  was  called  the  'Beautiful  Gate'  of  the 
temple,  to  ask  alms  from  those  who  entered  the  temple. 

3  When  he  noticed  that  Peter  and  John  meant  to  go  Into 

4  the  temple,  he  asked  them  for  alms.     Peter  looked  at  him 

5  steadily,  as  did  John,  and  said,  "Look  at  us."     The  man 

6  attended,  expecting  to  get  something  from  them.  But 
Peter  said,  "I  have  no  silver  or  gold,  but  I  will  give  you 
what  I  do  have.    In  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  the  Nazarene, 

7  [get  up  and]  walk!"    And  catching  him  by  the  right  hand 

*  Omitting  [06/3oj  re  ^v  /niyas  iirl  irdvTas,  Kal], 

t  Omitting  [ry  e/f/cX77cr^(ji],  although  the  omission  makes  it  difl5cult  to 
get  the  above  sense,  or  indeed  any,  out  of  the  Greek. 


THE  ACTS  IV  179 

he  raised  him.    Instantly  his  feet  and  ankles  grew  strong, 

8  he   leapt   to   his   feet,   started   to   walk,   and   accompanied 
them  into  the  temple,  walking,  leaping,  and  praising  God. 

9  When  all  the  people  saw  him  walking  and  praising  God, 

10  and  when  they  recognized  this  was  the  very  man  who  used 
to  sit  and  beg  at  the  Gate  Beautiful,  they  were  lost  in  awe 

11  and  amazement  at  what  had  happened  to  him.  As  he  clung 
to   Peter   and   John,   all   the   people    rushed   awestruck   to 

12  them  in  what  was  called  Solomon's  portico.  But  when 
Peter  saw  this,  he  said  to  the  people,  "Men  of  Israel,  why 
are  you  surprised  at  this?  Why  do  you  stare  at  us,  as  if 
we  had  made  him  walk  by  any  power  or  piety  of  ours? 

13  Ttie  God  of  Abraham  and  the  God  of  Isaac  and  the  God 
of  Jacob,  the  God  of  our  fathers  has  glorified  Jesus  his 
servant,   whom    you   delivered   up    and    repudiated   before 

14  Pilate.  Pilate  had  decided  to  release  him,  but  you  re- 
pudiated the  Holy  and  Just  One;  the  boon  you  asked  was 

15  a  murderer,  and  you  killed  the  pioneer  of  Life.     But  God 

16  raised  him  from  the  dead,  as  we  can  bear  witness.  (He  it 
is  who  has  given  strength  to  this  man  whom  you  see  and 
know,  by  faith  in  His  name;  it  is  the  faith  He  inspires 
which  has  made  the  man  thus  hale  and  whole  before  you 

17  all.)     Now  I  know,  brothers,  that  you  acted  in  ignorance, 

18  like  your  rulers — though  this  was  how  God  fulfilled  what 
he    had    announced    beforehand    by    the    lips    of    all    the 

19  prophets,  namely  the  sufferings  of  his  Christ.  Repent  then, 
and  turn  to  have  your  sins  blotted  out,  so  that  a  breathing- 

20  space  may  be  vouchsafed  you,  and  that  the  Lord  may  send 

21  Jesus  your  long-decreed  Christ,  who  must  be  kept  in 
heaven  till  the  period  of  the  great  Restoration.     Ages  ago 

22  God  spoke  of  this  by  the  lips  of  his  holy  prophets;  for 
Moses  said. 

The  Lord  our  God  will  raise  up  a  prophet  for  you  from 
among  your  brotherhood,  as  he  raised  me: 
you  must  listen  to  whatever  he  Tnay  tell  you. 

23  Any  soul  that  will  not   listen  to  this  prophet  shall  be 

exterminated  from  the  People; 

24  and  all  the  prophets  who  have  spoken  since  Samuel  and 

25  his  successors  have  also  announced  these  days.  Now  you 
are  the  sons  of  the  prophets  and  of  the  covenant  which 
God  made  with  your  fathers  when  he  said  to  Abraham, 
all  families   on  earth  shall  be   blessed  in  your  offspring. 

26  It  was  for  you  first  that  God  raised  up  his  Servant,  and 
sent  him  to  bless  you  by  turning  each  of  you  from  your 
wicked  ways." 

4  While   they   were   speaking   to    the   people,    they  were 
surprised  by  the  priests,  the  commander  of  the  temple, 
2  and  the  Sadducees,  who  were  annoyed  at  them  teaching 


180  THE  ACTS  IV 

the  people  and  proclaiming  Jesus  as  an  instance  of  resur- 

3  rection  from  the  dead.     They  laid  hands  on  them  and,  as 
it  was  now  evening,  put  them  in  custody  till  next  morn- 

4  ing.     (A  number  of  those  who  heard  them  speak  believed, 
bringing  up  their  numbers  to  [about]  five  thousand.) 

5  Next  morning  a  meeting  was  held  in  Jerusalem  of  their 

6  rulers,    elders    and    scribes,    which    was    attended    by    the 
high  priest  Annas,  by  Caiaphas,  John,  Alexander,  and  all 

7  the  members  of  the  high  priest's  family.     They  made  the 
men  stand  before  them  and  inquired,  "By  what  authority, 

8  in  whose  name,  have  you*  done  this?"     Then  Peter,  filled 
with  the  holy  Spirit,  said  to  them:   "Rulers  of  the  people 

9  and  elders  of  Israel,  if  we  are  being  cross-examined  to-day 
upon  a  benefit  rendered  to  a  cripple,  upon  how  this  man 

10  got  better,  you  and  the  people  of  Israel  must  all  understand 
that  he  stands  before  you  strong  and  well,  thanks  to  the 
name  of  Jesus  Christ  the  Nazarene  whom  you  crucified  and 

11  whom  God  raised  from  the  dead.     He  is 

tlie  stone  despised  ty  you  Guilders, 
ivhich  has  'become  head  of  the  corner. 

12  There  is  no  salvation  by  anyone  else,  nor  even  a  second 
Name  under  heaven  appointed  for  us  men  and  our  salva- 

13  tion."  They  were  astonished  to  notice  how  outspoken  Peter 
and  John  were,  and  to  discover  that  they  were  uncultured 
persons  and  mere  outsiders;  they  recognized  them  as  hav- 

14  ing  been  companions  of  Jesus,  but  as  they  saw  the  man 
who  had  been  healed  standing  beside  them,  they  could  say 

15  nothing.     Ordering  them  to  withdraw  from  the  Sanhedrin, 

16  they  proceeded  to  hold  a  consultation.  "What  are  we  to 
do  with  these  men?"  they  said.  "It  is  plain  to  all  the  in- 
habitants of  Jerusalem  that  a  miracle  has  admittedly  been 

17  worked  by  them.  That  we  cannot  deny.  However,  to  keep 
things  from  going  any  further  with  the  people,  we  had 
better  threaten  them  that  they  are  not  to  tell  anyone  in 

18  future  about  this  Name."  So  they  called  the  men  in  and 
ordered  them  not  to  speak  or  teach  a  single  sentence  about 

19  the  Name  of  Jesus.  But  Peter  and  John  replied,  "Decide 
for  yourselves  whether  it  is  right  before  God  to  obey  you 

20  rather  than  God.    Certainly  we  cannot  give  up  speaking  of 

21  what  we  have  seen  and  heard."  Then  they  threatened 
them  still  further  and  let  them  go;  on  account  of  the 
people  they  found  themselves  unable  to  find  any  means  of 
punishing   them,   for   everybody  was   glorifying   God    over 

22  what  had  happened  ( the  man  on  whom  this  miracle  of  heal- 
ing had  been  performed,  being  more  than  forty  j^ears  old). 

23  On  being  released  they  went  to  their  friends  and  related 

♦With  a  touch  of  superciliousness  ('  men  like  you  !  '),  which  is  per- 
haps better  expressed  in  reading  aloud  than  by  any  verbal  periphrasis. 


THE  ACTS  V  181 

24  what  the  high  priests  and  elders  had  said;  and  on  hearing 
this  the  entire  company  raised  their  cry  to  God,  "O 
Sovereign  Lord,  thou  art  he  *  who  made  heaven,  earth,  and 

25  sea,  and  all  that  in  them  is,  who  said  to  our  fathers  t  by 
the  holy  Spirit  through  the  lips  of  thy  servant  D^vid, 

Why  did  the  Gentiles  rage, 

and  the  peoples  vainly  conspire? 

26  The  kings  of  the  earth  stood  ready, 

the  rulers  mustered  together  against  the  Lord  and  his 
Christ. 

27  In  this  very  city  they  actually  mustered  against  thy  holy 
Servant  Jesus,  whom  thou  didst  consecrate — Herod  and 
Pontius  Pilate,  together  with  the  Gentiles  and  the  peoples 

28  of  Israel,  mustering  to  carry  out  what  thy  hand  had  traced, 

29  thy  purpose  had  decreed.  So  now,  O  Lord,  consider  the 
threats  of  these  men,  and  grant  that  thy  servants  may  be 

30  perfectly  fearless  in  speaking  thy  word,  when  thy  hand  is 
stretched  out  to  heal  and  to  perform  miracles  and  wonders 

31  by  the  name  of  thy  holy  Servant  Jesus."  At  their  prayer 
the  place  of  meeting  was  shaken,  and  they  were  all  filled 

33  with  the  holy  Spirit,  speaking  God's  word  fearlessly;  the 
apostles  gave  their  testimony  to  the  resurrection  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  with  great  power,  and  great  grace  was  upon 
them  all.t 

32  Now  there  was  but  one  heart  and  soul  among  the  multi- 
tude of  the  believers;  not  one  of  them  considered  anything 
his  personal  property,  they  shared  all  they  had  with  one 

34  another.  There  was  not  a  needy  person  among  them,  for 
those  who  owned  land  or  houses  would  sell  them  and  bring 

35  the  proceeds  of  the  sale,  laying  the  money  before  the  feet 
of  the  apostles;   it  was  then  distributed  according  to  each 

36  individual's  need.  Thus  Joseph,  who  was  surnamed  Barna- 
bas or   (as  it  may  be  translated)   'Son  of  Encouragement' 

37  by  the  apostles,  a  Levite  of  Cypriote  birth,  sold  a  farm 
belonging  to  him  and  brought  the  money,  which  he  placed 
before  the  feet  of  the  apostles. 

But  a  man  called  Ananias,  who  with  his  wife  Sapphira 
had  sold  some  property,  appropriated  some  of  the  pur- 
chase-money with  the  connivance  of  his  wife;  he  only 
brought  part  of  it  to  lay  before  the  feet  of  the  apostles. 

3  "Ananias,"  said  Peter,  "why  has  Satan  filled  your  heart 
and  made  you  cheat  the  holy  Spirit  by  appropriating  some 

4  of  the  money  paid  for  the  land?    When  it  remained  unsold. 

*  Omitting  [6  6ebs]. 

t  Accepting  Hort's  suggestion  that  rod  irarpSs  is  a  corruption  of  rois 
iraTpdtTLv,  though  the  text  even  then  seems  to  include  a  gloss  somewhere. 
X  Transposing  ver.  33  to  its  original  position  after  ver.  31. 


5 


182  THE  ACTS  V 

did  it  not  remain  your  own?  And  even  after  the  sale, 
was  the  money  not  yours  to  do  as  you  pleased  about  it? 
How  could   you   think  of   doing  a  thing  like   this?     You 

5  have  not  defrauded  men  but  God."  When  Ananias  heard 
this,  he  fell  down  and  expired.     (Great  awe  came  over  all 

6  who  heard  of  it.)      And  the  younger  men  rose,  wrapped 

7  the  body  up  and  carried  it  away  to  be  buried.  After  an 
interval  of  about  three  hours  his  wife  happened  to  come 

8  in,  quite  unconscious  of  what  had  occurred.  "Tell  me," 
said  Peter,  "did  you  only  sell  the  l?nd  for  such  and  such  a 

9  sum?"  "Yes,"  she  said,  "that  was  all  we  sold  it  for."  Peter 
said  to  her,  "How  could  you  arrange  to  put  the  Lord's 
Spirit  to  the  proof?  Listen,  there  are  the  footsteps  of 
the  men  who  have  buried  your  husband!     They  are  at  the 

10  door,  and  they  will  carry  you  out  as  well."  Instantly  she 
fell  down  at  their  feet  and  expired.  The  younger  men 
came  in  to  find  her  dead;  they  carried  her  out  and  buried 

11  her  beside  her  husband.  Great  awe  came  over  the  whole 
church  and  over  all  who  heard  about  this. 

12  Now  they  all  without  exception  met  in  the  portico  of 

13  Solomon.     Though   the   people   extolled   them,   not   a   soul 

14  from  the  outside  dared  to  join  them.  On  the  other  hand, 
crowds  of  men  and  women  who  believed  in  the  Lord  were 

12  brought  in.     Many  miracles  and  wonders  were  performed 

15  among  the  people  by  the  apostles.*  In  fact,  invalids  were 
actually  carried  into  the  streets  and  laid  on  beds  and 
mattresses,  so  that,  when  Peter  passed,  his  shadow  at  any- 

16  rate  might  fall  on  one  or  other  of  them.  Crowds  gathered 
even  from  the  towns  round  Jerusalem,  bringing  invalids 
and  people  troubled  with  unclean  spirits,  all  of  whom  were 
healed. 

17  This  filled  the  high  priest  Annas  t  and  his  allies,  the 

18  Sudducean  party,  with  bitter  jealousy;  they  laid  hands  on 

19  the  apostles  and  put  them  into  the  public  prison,  but  an 
angel  of  the  Lord  opened  the  prison-doors  during  the  night 

20  and  brought  them  out,  saying,  "Go  and  stand  in  the  temple, 

21  telling  the  people  all  about  this  Life."  With  these  orders 
they  went  into  the  temple  about  dawn  and  proceeded  to 
teach.  Meantime  the  high  priest  and  his  allies  met,  called 
the  Sanhedrin  together  and  the  council  of  seniors  belonging 
to  the  sons  of  Israel,  and  then  sent  to  prison  for  the  men. 

22  But  as  the  attendants  did  not  find  them  when  they  got  to 

23  the  prison,  they  came  back  to  report,  "We  found  the  prison 
safely   locked  up,   with  the  sentries   posted   at   the   doors, 

*  Transposing  the  first  clause  of  ver.  12  to  the  beginning  of  ver.  15. 
t  Blass's   l)rilliant   conjecture   for   the  avacrds  of   the  ordinary  text. 
It  is  not  entirely  without  manuscript  evidence. 


THE  ACTS  VI  183 

24  but  on  opening  the  doors  we  found  no  one  inside!"  On 
hearing  this  the  commander  of  the  temple  and  the  high 
priests  were  quite  at  a  loss  to  know  what  to  make  of  it. 

25  However,  someone  came  and  reported  to  them,  "Here  are 
the  very  men  you  put  in  prison,  standing  in  the  temple  and 

26  teaching  the  people!"  At  this  the  commander  went  off  with 
the  attendants  and  fetched  them — but  without  using  vio- 
lence, for  fear  that  the  people  would  pelt  them  with  stones. 

27  They  conducted  them  before  the  Sanhedrin,  and  the  high 

28  priest  asked  them,  "We  strictly  forbade  you  to  teach  about 
this  Name,  did  we  not?  And  here  you  have  filled  Jeru- 
salem with  your  doctrine!     You  want  to  make  us  respon- 

29  sible  for  this  man's  death!"     Peter  and   the  apostles  an- 

30  swered,  "One  must  obey  God  rather  than  men.  The  God 
of  our  fathers  raised  Jesus  whom  you  murdered  by  hang- 

31  i7ig  Mm  on  a  gibbet.  God  lifted  him  up  to  his  right  hand 
as  our  pioneer  and  saviour,  in  order  to  grant  repentance 

32  and  remission  of  sins  to  Israel.  To  these  facts  we  bear 
witness,  with  the  holy  Spirit  which  God  has  given  to  those 

33  who  obey  him."  When  they  heard  this,  they  were  so  furious 

34  that  they  determined  to  make  away  with  the  apostles.  But 
a  Pharisee  in  the  Sanhedrin  called  Gamaliel,  a  doctor  of 
the  Law  who  was  highly  respected  by  all  the  people,  got 
up    and    ordered    the    apostles    to    be    removed    for    a   few 

35  moments.    Then  he  said,  "Men  of  Israel,  take  care  what  you 

36  do  about  these  men.  In  days  gone  by  Theudas  started  up, 
claiming  to  be  a  person  of  importance;  a  number  of  men, 
about  four  hundred  of  them,  rallied  to  him,  but  he  was 
slain,  and  all  his  followers  were  dispersed  and  wiped  out. 

37  After  him  Judas  the  Galilean  started  up  at  the  time  of  the 
census,  and  got  people  to  deser.  to  him;    but  he  perished 

38  too,  and  all  his  followers  were  scattered.  So  I  advise  you 
to-day  to  leave  these  men  to  themselves.  Let  them  alone. 
If   this   project   or   enterprise   springs   from    men,  'it   will 

39  collapse;  whereas,  if  it  really  springs  from  God,  you  will 
be  unable  to  put  them  down.    You  may  even  find  yourselves 

40  fighting  God!"  They  gave  in  to  him,  and  after  summon- 
ing the  apostles  and  giving  them  a  flogging,  they  released 
them  with  instructions  that  they  were  not  to  speak  about 

41  the  name  of  Jesus.  The  apostles  left  the  Sanhedrin,  rejoic- 
ing   that   they    had    been    considered    worthy    of    suffering 

42  dishonour  for  the  sake  of  the  Name;  not  for  a  single  day 
did  they  cease  to  teach  and  preach  the  gospel  of  Jesus  the 
Christ  in  the  temple  and  at  home. 

6  During  these  days,  when  the  disciples  were  increasing 
in  number,  the  Hellenists  began  to  complain  against  the 
Hebrews,  on  the  ground  that  their  widows  were  being  over- 


184  THE  ACTS  VII 

2  looked  in  the  daily  distribution  of  food.  So  the  twelve 
summoned  the  main  body  of  the  disciples  and  said:  "It  is 
not  desirable  that  we  should  drop  preaching  the  word  of 

3  God  and  attend  to  meals.  Brothers,  look  out  seven  of  your 
own  number,  men  of  good  reputation  who  are  full  of  the 
Spirit  and  of  wisdom.    We  will  appoint  them  to  this  duty, 

4  but  we   will  continue   to   devote  ourselves   to   prayer   and 

5  the  ministry  of  the  word."  This  plan  commended  itself 
to  the  whole  body,  and  they  chose  Stephen,  a  man  full 
of  faith  and  the  holy  Spirit,  Philip,  Prochorus,  Nikanor, 
Timon,  Parmenas  and  Nikolaos  a  proselyte  from  Antioch; 

6  these  men  they  presented  to  the  apostles,  who,  after  prayer, 
laid  their  hands  upon  them. 

7  And  the  word  of  God  spread;  the  number  of  the  disciples 
in  Jerusalem  greatly  increased,  and  a  host  of  priests  became 
obedient  to  the  faitfi. 

8  Now   Stephen,   who   was  full   of  grace   and   power,   per- 
•  formed    great    wonders    and    miracles    among    the    people, 

9  Some  of  those  who  belonged  to  the  so-called  synagogue  of 
the  Libyans,*  the  Cyrenians,  and  the  Alexandrians,  as  well 
as  to  that  of  the  Cilicians  and  Asiatics,  started  a  dispute 

10  with  Stephen,  but  they  could  not  meet  the  wisdom  and  the 

11  Spirit  with  which  he  spoke.  They  then  instigated  people 
to   say,   "We  have  heard   him   talk-ng  blasphemy   against 

12  Moses  and  God."  In  this  way  they  excited  the  people,  the 
elders,  and  the  scribes,  who  rushed  on  him,  dragged  him 

13  away,  and  took  him  before  the  Sanhedrin.  They  also 
brought  forward  false  witnesses  to  say,  "This  fellow  is 
never  done  talking  against  this  holy  Place  and  the  Law! 

14  Why,  we  have  heard  him  say  that  Jesus  the  Nazarene  will 
destroy  this  Place  and  change  the  customs  handed  down 
to  us  by  Moses!" 

15  Then  all  who  were  seated  in  the  Sanhedrin  fixed  their 
eyes  on  him,  and  saw  that  his  face  shone  like  the  face 
of  an  angel. 


7 


and  fathers,"  said  Stephen.    "The  God  of  glory  appeared 
to  our  father  Abraham  when  he  was  still  in  Mesopotamia, 

3  before  ever  he  stayed  in  Haran,  and  said  to  him,  'Leave 
your  land  and  your  countrymen  and  come  to  wliatevcr  f 

4  land  I  show  you:    Then  he  left  the  land  of  the  Chaldeans 

*  Readinp;  Al^vcttLpuv  instead  of  the  xU^eprivojv  of  the  text.  This, 
as  Blass  points  out,  gives  "  the  African  Jews  in  the  geographical  order 
of  their  original  dwelling-places." 

t  Omitting  [tt)v]. 


THE  ACTS  VII  185 

and  stayed  in  Haran.     From  Haran  God  shifted  him,  after 

5  his  father's  death,  to  this  land  which  you  now  inhabit.  But 
he  did  not  give  him  any  inheritance  in  it,  not  even  a  foot 
of  the  land.  All  he  did  was  to  promise  he  would  give  it 
as  a  possession  to  him  and  to  his  offspring  after  him   (he 

6  at  the  time  being  childless).  What  God  said  was  this: 
'His  offspring  will  sojourn  in  a  foreign  land,  where  they 
will  be   enslaved  and  oppressed  for  four   hundred  years. 

7  But,'  said  God,  '/  *  will  ^^ass  sentence  on  the  nation  that 
has  made  them  slaves,  and  then  they  will  get  away  to 

8  worship  me  in  this  Place.'  God  also  gave  him  the  covenani 
of  circumeision.  So  Abraham  became  the  father  of  Isaac, 
tvhom  he  eircumcised  on  the  eighth  day,   Isaac  was  the 

9  father  of  Jacob,  and  Jacob  of  the  twelve  patriarchs.  Out 
of  jealousy  the  patriarchs  sold  Joseph  into  Egypt;  but  God 

10  was  with  him,  rescuing  him  from  all  his  troubles  and 
allowing  him  to  find  favour  for  his  wisdom  with  Pharaoh 
king  of,  Egypt,  who  appointed  him  viceroy  over  Egypt  and 

11  over  ail  his  own  household.  Now  a  famine  came  over 
the  whole  of  Egypt  and  Canaan,  attended  with  great 
misery,   so   that   our   ancestors   could  not   find   provender. 

12  But,  hearing  there  was  food  in  Egypt,  Jacob  sent  our  an- 

13  cestors  on  their  first  visit  to  that  country;  at  their  second 
visit   Joseph   made   himself   known    to    his   brothers,    and 

14  Pharaoh  was  informed  of  Joseph's  lineage.  Then  Joseph 
sent  for  his  father  Jacob  and  all  his  kinsfolk,  amounting 

15  to    seventy-five    souls;    and    Jacob    went   south    to   Egypt. 

16  When  he  and  our  ancestors  died,  they  were  carried  aci'oss 
to  Shechem  and  laid  in  the  tomb  which  Abraham  had 
bought  for  a  sum  of  money  from  the  sons  of  Hamor  in 

17  Shechem.     As  the  time  approached  for  the  promise  God 

18  had  made  to  Abraham,  the  people  grew  and  multiplied 
in  Egypt,  till  another  king  arose  to  rule  Egypt  who  knew 

19  nothing  of  Joseph.  He  took  a  cimning  method  with  our 
race;  he  oppressed  our  ancestors  by  forcing  them  to  expose 

20  their  infants,  to  prevent  them  from  surviving.  It  was  at 
this  period  that  Moses  was  born,  a  divinely  beautiful  child. 
For  three  months  he  was  brought  up  in  his  father's  house; 

21  then  he  was  exposed,  but  Pharaoh's  daughter  adoptted  him 

22  and  brought  him  up  as  her  own  son.  So  Moses  was  edu- 
cated in  all  the  culture  of  the  Egyptians;   he  was  a  strong' 

23  man  in  speech  and  action.  When  he  had  completed  his 
fortieth  year,  it  occurred  to  him  to  visit  his  brothers,  the 

24  sons  of  Israel.     He  saw  one  of  them  being  badly  treated, 

*  The  '  I  '  is  emphatic.  When  the  New  Testament  is  read  aloud, 
as  it  was  originally  meant  to  be,  such  stresses  can  be  brought  out.  They 
often  interpret  the  inner  meaning  of  the  text. 


186  THE  ACTS  VII 

so  he  defended  him,  struck  down  the  Egyptian,  and  thus 

25  avenged  the  man  who  had  been  wronged.  (He  thought 
his  brothers  would  understand  God  was  going  to  bring 
them  deliverance  by  means  of  him,  but  they  did  not  under- 

26  stand.)  Next  day  he  came  upon  two  of  them  fighting  and 
tried  to  pacify  them.     "You  are  brothers!"  he  said,  "why 

27  injure  one  another?"  But  the  man  who  was  injuring  his 
ncightour  pushed  him  aside.     ''Who  made  you  ruler  and 

28  umpire  over  usf  he  asked.     "Do  you  want  to  kill  me,  as 

29  yoii  killed  the  Egyptian  yesterday?"  At  that  Moses  fled; 
he  became  a  sojourner  in  the  land  of  Midian,  where  he  had 

30  two  sons  born  to  him.  At  the  close  of  forty  years  an  angel 
[of  the  Lord]  appeared  to  him  in  the  flames  of  a  burning 

31  thorn-bush,  in  the  desert  of  mount  Sinai.  When  Moses 
saw  this,  he  marvelled  at  the  sight;    and  as  he  went  up 

32  to  look  at  it,  the  voice  of  the  Lord  said,  '/  am  the  God  of 
your  fathers,  the  God  of  Abraham  and  Isaac  and  Jacob: 
Moses  was  so  terrified  that  he  did  not  dare  to  look  at  the 

33  bush.  But  the  Lord  said  to  him,  'Take  the  sandals  off  your 
feet,  for  the  place  ivhere  you  are  standing  is  sacred  ground. 

34  /  have  indeed  seen  the  oppression  of  my  people  in  Egypt, 
I  have  heard  their  groans,  and  I  have  come  down  to  rescue 

35  them.  Come  now,  I  will  send  you  back  to  Egypt.'  The 
Moses  they  refused,  when  they  said,  'Who  made  you  ruler 
and  umpire?' — that  was  the  very  man  whom  God  sent  to 
rule  and  to  redeem  them,  by  aid  of  the  angel  who  had 

36  appeared  to  him  in  the  bush.  He  it  was  who  led  them 
forth,  performing  wonders  and  signs  in  the  land  of  Egypt, 

37  at  the  Red  Sea,  and  in  the  desert  during  forty  years.  (This 
was  the  Moses  who  told  the  sons  of  Israel,  'God  will  raise 
up  a  prophet  for  you  from  among  your  brotherhood,  as  he 

38  raised  me.')  This  was  the  man  who  at  the  assembly  in 
the  desert  intervened  between  the  angel  who  spoke  to  him 
on  mount  Sinai  and  our  fathers;  he  received  living  Words 

39  to  be  given  to  us.  But  our  fathers  would  not  submit  to 
him;    they  pushed  him  aside  and  hankered  secretly  after 

40  Egypt.  They  told  Aaron,  'Make  gods  that  icill  march  in 
front  of  us!     As  for  this  Moses  who  led  us  out  of  Egypt, 

41  ive  don't  know  ivliat  has  happened  to  him!'  They  actually 
made  a  calf  in  those  days,  offered  sacrifice  to  this  idol,  and 
grew  festive  over  what  their  own  hands  had  manufactured. 

42  So  God  turned  from  them,  abandoning  them  to  the  worship 
of  the  starry  Host — as  it  is  written  in  the  book  of  the 
prophets.  Did  you  offer  me  victims  and  saci'ifices  during 

43  the  forty  years  in  the  desert,  0  house  of  Israel?  No,  it  was 
the  tent  of  Moloch  and  the  star-symbol  of  Rephan  your 
god  that  you  carried,  figures  that  you  manufactured  for 
worship.     So  now  I  will  transport  you  beyond  Babylon! 


THE  ACTS  VIII  187 

44  In  the  desert  our  fathers  had  the  tent  of  witness  as 
arranged  by  Him  who  told  Moses  to  make  it  after  the  pat- 

45  tern  he  had  seen.  It  was  passed  on  and  borne  in  by 
our  fathers  as  with  Joshua  they  took  possession  of  the 
territory  of  the  nations  whom  God  drove  out  before  our 
fathers.      So    it    remained    down    to    the    days    of    David. 

46  He  found  favour  with  God  and  asked  permission  to  devise 

47  a  dwelling  for  the  God  of  Jacob.     It  was  Solomon,  how- 

48  ever,  who  iuilt  him  a  house.  And  yet  the  most  High 
does  not  dwell  in  houses  made  by  hands.  As  the  prophet 
says, 

49  Heaven  is  my  throne, 

the  earth  is  a  footstool  for  my  feet! 
What  house  would  you  l)uild  me?  saith  the  Lord. 
On  what  spot  could  I  settle? 

50  Did  not  my  hand  make  all  this? 

51  Stiff-necked,  uncircumcised  in  heart  and  ear,  you  are 
always  resisting  the  holy  Spirit!     As  with  your  fathers, 

52  so  with  you!  Which  of  the  prophets  did  your  fathers  fail 
to  persecute?  They  killed  those  who  announced  before- 
hand the  coming  of   the  Just  One.     And  here  you  have 

53  betrayed  him,  murdered  him! — you  who  got  the  Law  that 
angels  transmitted,  and  have  not  obeyed  it!" 

54  When  they  heard  this,  they  were  furious  and  gnashed 

55  their  teeth  at  him.  He,  full  of  the  holy  Spirit,  gazed  up 
at  heaven  and  saw  the  glory  of  God  and  Jesus  standing 

56  at  God's  right  hand.     "Look,"  he  said,  "I  see  heaven  open 

57  and  the  Son  of  man  standing  at  God's  right  hand!"  With  a 
loud  shriek  they  shut  their  ears  and  rushed  at  him  like  one 

58  man.  Putting  him  outside  the  city,  they  proceeded  to  stone 
him  (the  witnesses  laid  their  clothes  at  the  feet  of  a  youth 

59  called  Saul).  So  they  stoned  Stephen,  who  called  on  the 
Lord,  saying,  "Lord  Jesus,  receive  my  spirit!"     Then  he 

60  knelt  down  and  cried  aloud,  "Lord,  let  not  this  sin  stand 
against  them!"     With  these  words  he  slept  the  sleep  of 

death.     (Saul  quite  approved  of  his  murder.) 
That   day  a  severe  persecution  broke  out  against  the 
church  in  Jerusalem,  and  everyone,  with  the  exception  of 
the    apostles,    was    scattered    over    Judaea    and    Samaria. 

2  Devout  men  buried   Stephen  and  made   loud  lamentation 

3  over  him,  but  Saul  made  havoc  of  the  church  by  entering 
one  house  after  another,  dragging  off  men  and  women,  and 
consigning  them  to  prison. 

4  Now  those  who  were  scattered  went  through  the  land 

5  preaching  the  gospel.     Philip  travelled  down  to  a  town  in 

6  Samaria,  where  he  preached  Christ  to  the  people.  And  the 
crowds  attended  like  one  man  to  what  was  said  by  Philip, 
listening  to  him  and  watching  the  miracles  he  performed. 


8 


188  THE  ACTS  VIII 

7  For  unclean  spirits  came  screaming  and  shrieking  out  of 
many  who  had  been  possessed,  and  many  paralytics  and 

8  lame  people  were  healed.    So  there  was  great  rejoicing  in  that 

9  town.  Now  for  some  time  previous  a  man  called  Simon 
had  been  practising  magic  arts  in  the  town,  to  the  utter 
astonishment  of  the  Samaritan  nation;    he  made  himself 

10  out  to  be  a  great  person,  and  all  sorts  and  conditions  of 
people  attached  themselves  to  him,  declaring  he  was  that 

11  Power  of  God  which  is  known  as  'the  Great  Power.'  They 
attached  themselves  to  him  because  he  had  dazzled  them 

12  w^ith  his  skill  in  magic  for  a  considerable  time.  But  when 
they  believed  Philip,  who  preached  the  gospel  of  the  Reign 
of  God  and  the  name  of  Jesus,  they  had  themselves  bap- 

13  tized,  both  men  and  w^omen;  indeed  Simon  himself  be- 
lieved, and  after  his  baptism  kept  close  to  Philip,  utterly 
astonished  to  see  the  signs  and  striking  miracles  which 
were  taking  place. 

14  When  the  apostles  at  Jerusalem  heard  that  Samaria  had 
accepted  the  word  of  God,  they  despatched  Peter  and  John, 

15  who  came   down  and  prayed  that   the   Samaritans  might 

16  receive  the  holy  Spirit.  (As  yet  it  had  not  fallen  upon 
any  of  them;  they  had  simply  been  baptized  in  the  name 

17  of  the  Lord  Jesus.)     Then  they  laid  their  hands  on  them, 

18  and  they  received  the  holy  Spirit.  Now  Simon  noticed  that 
the   holy   Spirit   was   conferred  by   the   laying  on   of   the 

19  apostles'  hands;  so  he  brought  them  money,  saying,  "Let 
me  share  this  power  too,  so  that  anyone  on  whom  I  lay 

20  my  hands  may  receive  the  holy  Spirit."  Peter  said  to 
him,   "Death  to  you   and  your  money,  for   dreaming  you 

21  could  buy  the  gift  of  God!  You  come  in  for  no  share  or  lot 
in  this  religion.     Yotcr  lieart  is  all  wrong  in  the  sight  of 

22  God.  So  repent  of  this  wickedness  of  yours,  and  ask  God 
whether  you  cannot  be  forgiven  for  your  heart's  purpose. 

23  For   I   see  you  are  a   hitter  poison  and  a  pack   of  evil." 

24  Simon  replied,  "Beseech  the  Lord  for  me!  Pray  that  noth- 
ing you  have  said  may  befall  me!" 

25  After  bearing  their  testimony  to  the  word  of  the  Lord 
and  preaching  it,  the  apostles  went  back  to  Jerusalem, 
preaching    the    gospel    to    a    number    of    the    Samaritan 

26  villages;  but  an  angel  of  the  Lord  said  to  Philip,  "Get  up 
and  go  south,  along  the  road  from  Jerusalem  to  Gaza"  (the 

27  desert-route).  So  he  got  up  and  went  on  his  way.  Now 
there  was  an  Ethiopian  eunuch,  a  high  official  of  Candace 
the  queen  of  the  Ethiopians  (he  was  her  chief  treasurer), 

28  who  had  come  to  Jerusalem  for  worship  and  was  on  his 
way   home.      He   was   sitting  in   his   chariot,    reading  the 

29  prophet  Isaiah.     The  Spirit  said  to  Philip,  "Go  up  and  join 

30  that  chariot."    When  Philip  ran  up,  he  heard  him  reading 


THE  ACTS  IX  189 

the  prophet  Isaiah.    "Do  you  really  understand  *  what  you 

31  are  reading?"  he  asked.  "Why,  how  can  I  possibly  under- 
stand it,"  said  the  eunuch,  "unless  some  one  puts  me  on 
the  right  track?"    And  he  begged  Philip  to  get  up  and  sit 

32  beside  him.  Now  the  passage  of  scripture  which  he  was 
reading  was  as  follows:  — 

he  was  led  like  a  sheep  to  te  slaughtered, 
and  as  a  laml)  is  dumb  before  the  shearer, 
so  he  opens  not  his  lips. 

33  By  humbling  himself  he  had  his  doom  removed. 
Who  can  tell  his  family? 

For  his  life  is  cut  off  from  the  earth. 

34  So  the  eunuch  said  to  Philip,  "Pray,  who  is  the  prophet 

35  speaking  about?  Is  it  himself  or  someone  else?"  Then 
Philip   opened  his  lips,   and  starting  from  this   scripture 

36  preached  the  gospel  of  Jesus  to  him.  As  they  travelled  on, 
they  came  to  some  water,  and  the  eunuch  said,  "Here  is 

38  water!  What  is  to  prevent  me  being  baptized?"  So  he 
ordered  the  chariot  to  stop.    Both  of  them  stepped  into  the 

39  water,  and  Philip  baptized  the  eunuch.  When  they  came 
up  from  the  water,  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  caught  Philip 
away,  and  the  eunuch  lost  sight  of  him.     He  went  on  his 

40  way  rejoicing,  while  Philip  found  himself  at  Azotus,  where 
he  passed  on,  preaching  the  gospel  in  every  town,  till  he 
reached  Caesarea. 

9  Meanwhile    Saul    still    breathed    threats    of    murder 
against  the  disciples  of  the  Lord.     He  went  to  the  high 

2  priest  and  asked  him  for  letters  to  the  synagogues  at 
Damascus  empowering  him  to  put  any  man  or  woman 
in  chains  whom  he  could  find  belonging  to  the  Way,  and 

3  bring  them  to  Jerusalem.  As  he  neared  Damascus  in  the 
course  of  his  journey,  suddenly  a  light  from  heaven  flashed 

4  round  him;  he  dropped  to  the  ground  and  heard  a  voice 
saying  to  him,  "Saul,   Saul,  why  do  you  persecute  me?" 

5  "Who  are  you?"  f  he  asked.     "I  am  Jesus,"  he  said,  "and 

6  you  persecute  me.     Get  up  and  go  into  the  city.     There 

7  you  will  be  told  what  you  have  to  do."  His  fellow-trav- 
ellers stood  speechless,  for  they  heard  the  voice  but  they 

8  could  not  see  anyone.  Saul  got  up  from  the  ground,  but 
though  his  eyes  were  open  he  could  see  nothing;   so  they 

*  The  Vulgate  preserves  the  play  on  words  in  the  Greek.  Intellegis 
quae  legis  brings  out,  as  English  cannot,  the  force  of  yiPibaKCLs  d  dva- 

yLV<JO(TK€LS. 

1 1  have  deliberately  left  Kvpie  untranslated  here,  as  in  xxii.  8  and 
xxvi.  14,  no  less  than  in  x.  4.  Any  English  rendering  would  imply 
either  too  much  or  too  little. 


190  THE  ACTS  IX 

9  took  his  hand  and  led  him  to  Damascus.     For  three  days 
he  remained  sightless,  he  neither  ate  nor  drank. 

10  Now  there  was  a  disciple  called  Ananias  in  Damascus. 

11  The  Lord  said  to  him  in  a  vision,  "Ananias."  He  said, 
"I  am  here.  Lord."  And  the  Lord  said  to  him,  "Go  away 
to  the  street  called  'The  Straight  Street,'  and  ask  at  the 
house  of  Judas  for  a  man  of  Tarsus  called  Saul.     He  is 

12  praying  at  this  very  moment,  and  he  has  seen  a  man  called 
Ananias  enter  and  lay  his  hands  upon  him  to  bring  back 

13  his  sight."  "But,  Lord,"  Ananias  answered,  "many  people 
have  told  me  about  all  the  mischief  this  man  has  done  to 

14  thy  saints  at  Jerusalem!  And  in  this  city  too  he  has 
authority  from  the  high  priests  to  put  anyone  in  chains 

15  who  invokes  thy  Name!"  But  the  Lord  said  to  him,  "Go; 
I  have  chosen  him  to  be  the  means  of  bringing  my  Name 
before  the  Gentiles  and  their  kings  as  well  as  before  the 

16  sons  of  Israel.    I  will  show  him  all  he  has  to  suffer  for  the 

17  sake  of  my  Name."  So  Ananias  went  off  and  entered  the 
house,  laying  his  hands  on  him  with  these  words,  "Saul, 
my  brother,  I  have  been  sent  by  the  Lord,  by  Jesus  who 
appeared  to  you  on  the  road,  to  let  you  regain  your  sight 

18  and  be  filled  with  the  holy  Spirit."  In  a  moment  some- 
thing like  scales  fell  from  his  eyes,  he  regained  his  sight, 

19  got  up  and  was  baptized.  Then  he  took  some  food  and  felt 
strong  again.     For  several   days  he   stayed  at  Damascus 

20  with  the  disciples.     He  lost  no  time  in  preaching  through- 

21  out  the  synagogues  that  Jesus  was  the  Son  of  God — to  the 
amazement  of  all  his  hearers,  who  said,  "Is  this  not  the 
man  who  in  Jerusalem  harried  those  who  invoke  this 
Name,  the  man  who  came  here  for  the  express  purpose  of 
carrying  them  all  in  chains  to  the  high  priests?" 

22  Saul  became  more  and  more  vigorous.  He  put  the  Jew- 
ish residents  in  Damascus  to  confusion  by  his  proof  that 

23  Jesus  was  the  Christ;    and  the  Jews,  after  a  number  of 

24  days  had  elapsed,  conspired  to  make  away  with  him.  But 
their  plot  came  to  the  ears  of  Saul,  and,  although  they  kept 
watch  on  the  gates  day  and  night  in  order  to  make  away 

25  with  him,  his  disciples  managed  one  night  to  let  him  down 

26  over  the  wall  by  lowering  him  in  a  basket.  He  got  to  Jeru- 
salem and  tried  to  join  the  disciples,  but  they  were  all 
afraid  of  him,  unable  to  believe  he  was  really  a  disciple. 

27  Barnabas,  however,  got  hold  of  him  and  brought  him  to  the 
apostles.  To  them  he  related  how  he  had  seen  the  Lord 
upon  the  road,  how  He  had  spoken  to  him,  and  how  he 

28  had  spoken  freely  in  the  name  of  Jesus  at  Damascus.  He 
then  went  in  and  out  among  them  at  Jerusalem,  speaking 

29  freely  in  the  name  of  the  Lord;  he  also  held  conversations 
and  debates  with  the  Hellenists.     But  when  the  brothers 


THE  ACTS  X  191 

learned    that    the    Hellenists    were    attempting    to    make 

30  away  with  him,  they  took  him  down  to  Caesarea  and  sent 
him  off  to  Tarsus. 

31  Now,  all  over  Judaea,  Galilee,  and  Samaria,  the  church 
enjoyed  peace;  it  was  consolidated,  inspired  by  reverence 
for  the  Lord  and  by  its  invocation  of  the  holy  Spirit,  and 

32  so  increased  in  numbers.  Peter  moved  here  and  there 
among  them  all,  and  it  happened  that  in  the  course  of  his 
tours    he   came    down   to    vi^it    the    saints    who    stayed    at 

33  Lydda.      There   he   found   a   man   called   ^neas    who   had 

34  been  bed-ridden  for  eight  years  with  paralysis,  "^neas," 
said  Peter,  "Jesus  the  Christ  cures  you!     Get  up  and  make 

35  your  bed!"  He  got  up  at  once.  And  all  the  inhabitants 
of  Lydda  and  Saron  saw  him,  and  they  turned  to  the  Lord. 

36  At  Joppa  there  was  a  disciple  called  Tabitha  (which  may 
be   translated   Dorcas,  or   'Gazelle'),   a  woman  whose  life 

37  was  full  of  good  actions  and  of  charitable  practices.  She 
happened  to  take  ill  and  die  at  this  time,  and  after  wash- 

38  ing  her  body  they  laid  it  in  an  upper  room.  When  the 
disciples  heard  that  Peter  was  at  Lydda  (for  Joppa  is  not 
far  from  Lydda),  they  sent  two  men  to  beg  him  to  "Come 

39  on  to  us  without  delay."  So  Peter  got  up  and  went  with 
them.  When  he  arrived,  they  took  him  up  to  the  room, 
where  all  the  widows  stood  beside  him  crying  as  they 
showed  him  the  garments  and  dresses  that  Dorcas  used  to 

40  make  when  she  was  with  them.  Peter  put  them  all  out- 
side; then  he  knelt  down  and  prayed,  and  turning  to  the 
body  said,  "Tabitha,  rise."     She  opened  her  eyes,  and  on 

41  seeing  Peter  she  sat  up.  Then  he  gave  her  his  hand,  raised 
her,  and,  after  calling  the  saints  and  the  widows  he  pre- 

42  sented  her  to  them  alive.  This  became  known  all  over 
Joppa,  and  many  believed  in  the  Lord. 

43  In  Joppa  Peter  stayed  for  some  time,  at  the  house  of 
"I  r\  Simon  a  tanner.  Now  in  Caesarea  there  was  a  man 
1  v/  called  Cornelius,   a  captain   in   the   Italian  regiment, 

2  a  religious  man,  who  reverenced  God  with  all  his  house- 
hold, who  was  liberal  in  his  alms  to  the  People,  and  who 

3  constantly  prayed  to  God.  About  three  o'clock  in  the  after- 
noon he  distinctly  saw  in  a  vision  an  angel  of  God  entering 

4  and  saying  to  him,  "Cornelius."  He  stared  at  the  angel  in 
terror,  saying,  "What  is  it?"  He  replied,  "Your  prayers 
and  your  alms  have  risen  before  God  as  a  sacrifice  to  be 

5  remembered.     You  must  now  send  some  men  to  Joppa  for 

6  a  certain  Simon  who  is  surnamed  Peter;  he  is  staying  with 

7  Simon  a  tanner,  whose  house  stands  by  the  sea."  When 
the  angel  who  spoke  to  him  had  left,  he  called  two  of  his 
menservants    and    a    religiously    minded    soldier    who    be- 


192  THE  ACTS  X 

8  longed  to  his  personal  retinue,  and  after  describing  all  the 

9  vision  to  them,  he  sent  them  to  Joppa.  Next  day  they 
were  still  on  the  road  and  not  far  from  the  town,  when 
Peter  went  up  to  the  roof  of  the  house  about  noon  to  pray. 

10  He  became  very  hungry  and  longed  for  some  food.  But 
as  they  were  getting  the  meal  ready,  a  trance  came  over 

11  him.  He  saw  heaven  open  and  a  vessel  coming  down,  like 
a  huge   sheet  lowered  by  the  four  corners  to  the  earth, 

12  which  contained  all  quadrupeds  and  creeping  things  of  the 

13  earth  and  wild  birds.     A  yoice  came  to  him,  "Rise,  Peter, 

14  kill  and  eat."     But  Peter  said,  "No,  no,  my  Lord;   I  have 

15  never  eaten  anything  common  or  unclean."  A  second  time 
the  voice  came  back  to  him,  "What  God  has  cleansed,  you 

16  must  not  regard  as  common."    This  happened  three  times; 

17  then  the  vessel  was  at  once  raised  to  heaven.  Peter  was 
quite  at  a  loss  to  know  the  meaning  of  the  vision  he  had 
seen;  but  just  then,  the  messengers  of  Cornelius,  who  had 
made  inquiries  for  the  house  of  Simon,  stood  at  the  door 

18  and  called  out  to  ask  if  Simon,  surnamed  Peter,  was  stay- 

19  ing  there.  So  the  Spirit  said  to  Peter,  who  was  pondering 
over  the   vision,   "There  are  three  men  looking  for  you! 

20  Come,  get  up  and  go  down,  and  have  no  hesitation  about 
accompanying   them,    for    it    is    I    who    have    sent   them." 

21  Then  Peter  went  down  to  the  men,  saying,  "I  am  the  man 
you  are  looking  for.     What  is  your  reason  for  coming?" 

22  They  said,  "Cornelius,  a  captain,  a  good  man  who  rev- 
erences God  and  enjoys  a  good  reputation  among  the  whole 
Jewish  nation,  was  instructed  by  a  holy  angel  to  send  for 
you  to  his  house  and  to  listen  to  what  you  had  to  say." 

23  So  he  invited  them  in  and  entertained  them.  Next  day 
he  was  up  and  off  with  them,  accompanied  by  some  of  the 

24  brothers   from    Joppa;    and   on   the   next    day   he   reached 

25  Caesarea.  Peter  was  just  going  into  the  house  when  Cor- 
nelius  met   him,    fell    at   his   feet,    and   v/orshipped   him; 

26  but  Peter  rai^  him,  saying,  "Get  up,  I  am  only  a  man 

27  myself."     Theti  talking  to  him  he  entered  the  house,   to 
24  find  a  large  company  assembled.     (For  Cornelius  had  been 

expecting  him  and  had  called  his  kinsfolk  and   intimate 

28  friends  together.)*  To  them  Peter  said,  "You  know  your- 
selves it  is  illegal  for  a  Jew  to  join  or  accost  anyone  belong- 
ing to  another  nation;  but  God  has  shown  me  that  I  must 

29  not  call  any  man  common  or  unclean,  and  so  I  have  come 
without  any  demur  when  I  was  sent  for.     Now  I  want  to 

30  know  why  you  sent  for  me?"  "Three  days  ago,"  said  Cor- 
nelius, "at  this  very  hour  I  was  praying  in  my  house  at 
three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  when  a  man  stood  before 

*  Transposing  ver.  246  to  its  right  position  between  ver.  27  and  ver.  28. 


THE  ACTS  XI  193 

31  me  ir.  shining  dress,  saying,  'Cornelius,  your  prayer  has 

32  been  heard,  your  alms  are  remembered  by  God.  You  must 
send  to  Joppa  and  summon  Simon  who  is  surnamed  Peter; 
he  is  staying  in  the  house  of  Simon  a  tanner  beside  the 

33  sea.'  So  I  sent  for  you  at  once,  and  you  have  been  kind 
enough  to  come.  Well  now,  here  we  are  all  present  before 
God  to   listen  to  what  the  Lord  has  commanded  you   to 

34  say."     Then  Peter  opened  his  lips  and  said,  "I  see  quite 

35  plainly  that  God  lias  no  favourites,  but  that  he  who  rev- 
erences Him  and  lives  a  good  life  in  any  nation  is  wel- 

36  comed  by  Him.  You  know  the  message  he  sent  to  the  sons 
of  Israel  when  lie  preached  the  gospel  of  peace  by  Jesus 

37  Christ  (who  is  Lord  of  all) ;  you  know  how  it  spread  over 
the  whole  of  Judaea,  starting  from  Galilee  after  the  bap- 

38  tism  preached  by  John — how  God  consecrated  Jesus  of 
Nazaret  with  the  holy  Spirit  and  power,  and  how  he  went 
about  doing  good  and  curing  all  who  were  harassed  by  the 

39  devil;  for  God  was  with  him.  As  for  what  he  did  in  the 
land  of  the  Jews  and  of  Jerusalem,  we  can  testify  to  that. 

40  They  slew  him  hi/  hanging  him  on  a  gibbet,  but  God  raised 

41  him  on  the  third  day,  and  allowed  him  to  be  seen  not  by 
all  the  People  but  by  witnesses  whom  God  had  previously 
selected,   by   us  who   ate   and   drank   with   him   after   his 

42  resurrection  from  the  dead,  when  he  enjoined  us  to  preach 
to  the  People,  testifying  that  this  was  he  whom  God  has 

43  appointed  to  be  judge  of  the  living  and  of  the  dead.  All 
the  prophets  testify  that  everyone  who  believes  in  him  is 

44  to  receive  remission  of  sins  through  his  Name."  While 
Peter  was  still  speaking,  the  holy  Spirit  fell  upon  all  who 

45  listened  to  what  he  said.  Now  the  Jewish  believers  who 
had  accompanied  Peter  were  amazed  that  the  gift  of  the 
holy  Spirit  had  actually  been  poured  out  on  the  Gentiles — 

46  for  they  heard  them  speak  with  'tongues'  and  magnify  God. 

47  At  this  Peter  asked,  "Can  any  one  refuse  water  for  the 
baptism   of   these   people — people   who   have   received   the 

48  holy  Spirit  just  as  we  ourselves  have?"  And  he  ordered 
them  to  be  baptized  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ.  Then 
they  begged  him  to  remain  for  some  days. 

11    Now  the  apostles  and  the  brothers  in  Judaea  heard 
1   that  the  Gentiles  also  had  received  the  word  of  God. 

2  So   when   Peter  came  up   to   Jerusalem,   the   circumcision 

3  party  fell  foul  of  him.  "You  went  into  the  houses  of  the 
uncircumcised,"    they    said,    "and    you    ate    with    them!" 

4  Then    Peter    proceeded    to    put    the    facts    before     them. 

5  "I  was  in  the  town  of  Joppa  at  prayer,"  he  said,  "and  in  a 
trance  I  saw  a  vision — a  vessel  coming  down  like  a  huge 
sheet  lowered  from  heaven  by  the  four  corners.     It  came 


194  THE  ACTS  XI 

6  down  to  me,  and  when  I  looked  steadily  at  it,  I  noted  the 
quadrupeds   of   the    earth,    the   wild   beasts,    the    creeping 

7  things  and  the  wild  birds.     Also  I  heard  a  voice  saying  to 

8  me,  'Rise,  Peter,  kill  and  eat.'     I  said,  *No,  no,  my  Lord;* 
nothing    common    or    unclean    has    ever    passed    my    lips.' 

9  But    a   voice    answered   me    for    the    second    time    out    of 
heaven,  'What  God  has  cleansed,  you  must  not  regard  as 

10  common.'     This  happened  three  times,  and  then  the  whole 

11  thing  w^as  drawn  back  into  heaven.  At  that  very  moment 
three  men  reached  the  house  where  I  was  living,  sent  to  me 

12  from  Caesarea.  The  Spirit  told  me  to  have  no  hesitation  in 
accompanying  them;   these  six  brothers  went  with  me  as 

13  well,  and  we  entered  the  man's  house.  He  related  to  us 
how  he  had  seen  the  angel  standing  in  his  house  and  say- 
ing,  'Send  to   Joppa  for   Simon   who  is   surnamed  Peter; 

14  he  will  tell  you  how  you  and  all  your  household  are  to  be 

15  saved.'    Now  just  as  I  began  to  speak,  the  holy  Spirit  fell 

16  upon  them  as  upon  us  at  the  beginning;  and  I  remem- 
bered the  saying  of  the  Lord,  that  'John  baptized  with 
water,   but   you   shall   be   baptized  with   the   holy   Spirit.' 

17  Well  then,  if  God  has  given  them  exactly  the  same  gift  as 
he  gave  us  when  we  believed  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who 

18  was  I — how  could  I  try — to  thwart  God?"  On  hearing  this 
they  desisted  and  glorified  God,  saying,  "So  God  has  actu- 
ally allowed  the  Gentiles  to  repent  and  live!" 

19  Now  those  who  had  been  scattered  by  the  trouble  which 
arose  over  Stephen  made  their  way  as  far  as  Phcenicia  and 
Cyprus  and  Antioch,  but  they  preached  the  v/ord  to  none 

20  except  Jews.  Some  of  them,  however,  were  Cypriotes  and 
Cyrenians,  who  on  reaching  Antioch  told  the  Greeks  t  also 

21  the  gospel  of  the  Lord  Jesus;  the  strong  hand  of  the 
Lord  was   with   them,   and   a  large  number  believed   and 

22  turned  to  the  Lord.  The  news  of  this  reached  the  church 
in  Jerusalem,  and  they  despatched  Barnabas  to  Antioch, 

23  When  he  came  and  saw  the  grace  of  God  he  rejoiced,  and 
encouraged  them  all   to  hold  by  the  Lord  with  heartfelt 

24  purpose  (for  he  was  a  good  man,  full  of  the  holy  Spirit  and 
faith).     Considerable  numbers  of  people  were  brought  in 

25  for  the  Lord.     So  Barnabas  went  off  to  Tarsus  to  look  for 

26  Saul,  and  on  finding  him  he  brought  him  to  Antioch,  where 
for  a  whole  year  they  were  guests  of  the  church  and  taught 
considerable  numbers.  It  was  at  Antioch  too  that  the 
disciples  were  originally  called  "Christians." 

27  During  these  days  some  prophets  came  down  from  Jeru- 

*  Here,  as  in  x.  14,  lojpu  is  translated.  Peter  was  a  Christian,  and 
the  connexion  of  the  Voice  with  the  Spirit  is  evident  from  the  context, 

t  Reading  "EX\7;j'as  with  X^  A  D*,  for  which  'EWrjvuTTas  seems  to 
have  been  substituted  under  the  influence  of  ix.  29, 


THE  ACTS  XII  195 

28  salem  to  Antioch,  one  of  whom,  named  Agabus,  showed  by 
the  Spirit  that  a  severe  famine  was  about  to  visit  the 
whole  world   (the  famine  which  occurred  in  the  reign  of 

29  Claudius).  So  the  disciples  put  aside  money,  as  each  of 
them  was  able  to  afford  it,  for  a  contribution  to  be  sent  to 

30  the  brothers  in  Judaea.  This  they  carried  out,  sending 
their  contribution  to  the  presbyters  by  Barnabas  and  Saul. 

10  It  was  about  that  time  that  king  Herod  laid  hands 
-^  of  violence  on  some  members  of  the  church.     James 

3  the  brother  of  John  he  slew  with  the  sword,  and  when  he 
saw   this   pleased   the   Jews,   he   went   on   to   seize   Peter. 

4  (This  was  during  the  days  of  unleavened  bread.)  After 
arresting  him  he  put  him  in  prison,  handing  him  over  to  a 
guard  of  sixteen  soldiers,  with  the  intention  of  producing 

5  him  to  the  People  after  the  passover.  So  Peter  was  closely 
guarded  in  prison,  while  earnest  prayer  for  him  was  offered 

6  to  God  by  the  church.  The  very  night  before  Herod  meant 
to  have  him  produced,  Peter  lay  asleep  between  two 
soldiers;   he  was  fastened  by  two  chains,  and  sentries  in 

7  front  of  the  door  guarded  the  prison.  But  an  angel  of  the 
Lord  flashed  on  him,  and  a  light  shone  in  the  cell;  striking 
Peter  on  the  side  he  woke  him,  saying,  "Quick,  get  up!" 

8  The  fetters  dropped  from  his  hands,  and  the  angel  said  to 
him,  "Gird  yourself  and  put  on  your  sandals."  He  did  so. 
Then  said  the  angel,  "Put  on  your  coat  and  follow  me." 

9  And  he  followed  him  out,  not  realizing  that  what  the 
angel  did  was  real,  but  imagining  that  he  saw  a  vision. 

10  When  they  had  passed  the  first  guard  and  the  second  they 
came  to  the  iron  gate  leading  into  the  city,  which  opened 
to  them  of  its  own  accord;  they  passed  out,  and  after  they 
had  gone  through  one  street,  the  angel  immediately  left 

11  him.  Then  Peter  came  to  his  senses  and  said,  "Now  I 
know  for  certain  that  the  Lord  has  sent  his  angel  and 
rescued  me  from  the  hand  of  Herod  and  from  all  that  the 

12  Jewish  people  were  anticipating."  When  he  grasped  the 
situation,  he  went  to  the  house  of  Mary,  the  mother  of 
John  who  was  surnamed  Mark,  where  a  number  had  met 

13  for  prayer.     When  he  knocked  at  the  door  of  the  porch, 

14  a  maidservant  called  Rhoda  came  to  answer  it;  but  as 
soon  as  she  recognized  Peter's  voice,  instead  of  opening  the 
door  she  ran  inside  from  sheer  joy  and  announced  that 

15  Peter  was  standing  in  front  of  the  porch.  "You  are  mad," 
they  said.    But  she  insisted  it  was  true.     "It  is  his  angel," 

16  they  said.     But  Peter  kept  on  knocking,  and  when  they 

17  opened  the  door  they  were  amazed  to  see  him.  He  beck- 
oned tD  them  to  keep  quiet  and  then  described  to  them 
how  the  Lord  had  brought  him  out  of  prison.    "Report  this 


196  THE  ACTS  XIII 

to   James,"   he   said,   "and  to   the  brothers."     And  off  he 

18  went  to  another  place.  Now  when  day  broke  there  was  a 
great  commotion  among  the  soldiers  over  what  could  have 

19  become  of  Peter.  Herod  made  inquiries  for  him  but  could 
not  find  him;  so,  after  cross-examining  the  guards,  he 
ordered    them    off   to    death.      He    then   went    down   from 

20  Judaea  to  Caesarea,  where  he  spent  some  time.  As  there 
was  a  bitter  feud  between  him  and  the  inhabitants  of  Tyre 
and  Sidon,  they  waited  on  him  unanimously  and  after  con- 
ciliating the  royal  chamberlain  Blastus  they  made  over- 
tures for  peace,   as  their   country   depended  for  its  food- 

21  supply  upon  the  royal  territory.  On  a  stated  day  Herod 
arrayed  himself  in  royal  robes,  took  his  seat  on  the  dais, 

22  and  proceeded  to  harangue  them.     The  populace  shouted, 

23  "It  is  a  god's  voice,  not  a  man's!"  and  in  a  moment  an 
angel  of  the  Lord  struck  him,  because  he  had  not  given  due 
glory  to  God;   he  was  eaten  up  by  worms  and  so  expired. 

24  The  word  of  God  spread  and  multiplied. 

25  After  fulfilling  their  commission,  Barnabas  and  Saul 
returned  from  Jerusalem,  bringing  with  them  John  who  is 
surnamed  Mark. 

1  O  Now  in  the  local  church  at  Antioch  there  were 
lO  prophets  and  teachers,  Barnabas,  Symeon  (called 
Niger)  and  Lucius  the  Cyrenian,  besides  Manaen  (a  foster- 

2  brother  of  Herod  the  tetrarch)  and  Saul.  As  they  were 
worshipping  the  Lord  and  fasting,  the  holy  Spirit  said, 
"Come!    set  me  apart  Barnabas  and  Saul  for  the  work  to 

3  which  I  have  called  them."  Then  after  fasting  and  pray- 
ing they  laid  their  hands  on  them  and  let  them  go. 

4  Sent  out  thus  by  the  holy   Spirit,   they  went   down  to 

5  Seleucia  and  from  there  they  sailed  to  Cyprus.  On  reach- 
ing Salamis  they  proclaimed  the  word  of  God  in  the  Jewish 

6  synagogues,  with  John  as  their  assistant.  They  covered 
the  whole  island  as  far  as  Paphos,  where  they  fell  in  with 
a    Jewish    sorcerer    and    false    prophet    called    Bar-Jesus; 

7  he  belonged  to  the  suite  of  the  proconsul  Sergius  Paulus, 
an  intelligent  man  who  called  for  Barnabas  and  Saul  and 

8  demanded  to  hear  the  word  of  God.  But  the  sorcerer 
Elymas  (for  that  is  the  translation  of  his  name)   tried  to 

9  divert  the  proconsul  from  the  faith.  So  Saul  (who  is  also 
called  Paul),  filled  with  the  holy  Spirit,   looked   steadily 

10  at  him  and  said,  "You  son  of  the  devil,  you  enemy  of  all 
good,  full  of  all  craft  and  all  cunning,  will  you  never  stop 

11  diverting  the  straiglit  paths  of  the  Lord?  See  here,  the 
Lord's  hand  will  fall  on  you,  and  you  will  be  blind,  unable 
for  a  time  to  see  the  sun."  In  a  moment  a  dark  mist  fell 
upon  him,  and  he  groped  about  for  someone  to  take  him 

12  by  the  hand.     Then  the  proconsul  believed,  when  he  saw 


THE  ACTS  XIII  197 

what  had  happened;  he  was  astounded  at  the  doctrine  of 
the  Lord. 

13  Setting  sail  from  Paphos,  Paul  and  his  companions 
reached   Perga  in   Pamphylia;    John  left   them   and  went 

14  back  to  Jerusalem,  but  they  passed  on  from  Perga  and 
arrived  at  Pisidian  Antioch.     On  the  sabbath  they  went 

15  into  the  synagogue  and  sat  down;  and,  after  the  reading 
of  the  Law  and  the  prophets,  the  presidents  of  the  syna- 
gogue sent  to  tell  them,  "Brothers,  if  you  have  any  word 

16  of  counsel  for  the  people,  say  it."  So  Paul  stood  up  and 
motioning  with  his  hand  said,  "Listen,  men  of  Israel  and 

17  you  who  reverence  God.  The  God  of  this  People  Israel 
chose  our  fathers;  he  multiplied  the  people  as  they 
sojourned  in  the  land  of  Egypt  and  with  arm  uplifted  led 

18  them,  out  of  it.     For  about  forty  years  lie  bore  tvith  them 

19  in  the  desert,  and  after  destroying  seven  nations  in  the 
land  of  Canaan  he  gave  them  their  land  as  an  inheritance 

20  for  about  four  hundred  and  fifty  years.    After  that  he  gave 

21  them  judges,  down  to  the  prophet  Samuel.  Then  it  was 
that  they  begged  for  a  king,  and  God  gave  them  forty 
years  of  Saul,  the  son  of  Kish,  who  belonged  to  the  tribe 

22  of  Benjamin.  After  deposing  him,  he  raised  up  David  to 
be  their  king,  to  whom  he  bore  this  testimony  that  'In 
David,  the  son  of  Jessai,  /  have  found  a  man  after  my 

23  oicn  heart,  who  will  obey  all  my  will.'  Prom  his  offspring 
God  brought  to  Israel,  as  he  had  promised,  a  saviour  in 

24  Jesus,  before  whose  coming  John  had  already  preached  a 

25  baptism  of  repentance  for  all  the  people  of  Israel.  And  as 
John  was  closing  his  career  he  said,  'What  do  you  take  me 
for?    I  am  not  He;  no,  he  is  coming  after  me,  and  I  am  not 

26  fit  to  untie  the  sandals  on  his  feet!'  Brothers,  sons  of 
Abraham's  race   and  all  among  you  who   reverence   God, 

27  the  message  of  this  salvation  has  been  sent  to  us.  The 
inhabitants  of  Jerusalem  and  their  rulers,  by  condemning 
him  *  in  their  ignorance,  fulfilled  the  words  of  the  prophets 

28  which  are  read  every  sabbath;  though  they  could  find  him 
guilty  of  no  crim.e  that  deserved  death  they  begged  Pilate 

29  to  have  him  put  to  death,  and,  after  carrying  out  all  that 
had  been  predicted  of  him  in  scripture,  they  lowered  him 

30  from  the  gibbet  and  laid  him  in  a  tomb.     But  God  raised 

31  him  from  the  dead.  For  many  days  he  was  seen  by  those 
who  had  come  up  with  him  from  Galilee  to  Jerusalem; 

32  they  are  now  his  witnesses  to  the  People.  So  we  now 
preach  to  you  the  glad  news  that  the  promise  made  to  the 

*  The  Greek  text  is  difficult.  I  prefer,  as  the  least  radical  treatment, 
Lachmann's  proposal  to  read  Kpivavres  immediately  after  dypoi^aavTes  /cai, 
which  at  anyrate  yields  a  fair  sense. 


198  THE  ACTS  XIII 

33  fathers  has  been  fulfilled  by  God  for  us  their  children, 
when  he  raised  Jesus.  As  it  is  written  in  the  second 
psalm, 

thoit  art  my  son, 

to-day  have  I  become  thy  father. 

34  And  as  a  proof  that  he  has  raised  him  from  the  dead,  never 
to  return  to  decay,  he  has  said  this:  I  will  give  you  the 

35  holiness  of  David  that  fails  not.  Hence  in  another  psalm 
he  says, 

thou  icilt  not  let  thy  holy  One  suffer  decay. 

36  Of  course  David,  after  serving  God's  purpose  in  his  own 
generation,  died  and  was  laid  beside  his  fathers;  he  suf- 

37  fered  decay,  but  He  whom  God  raised  did  not  suffer  decay. 

38  So  you  must  understand,  my  brothers,  that  remission  of 

39  sins  is  proclaimed  to  you  through  him,  and  that  by  him 
everyone  who  believes  is  absolved  from  all  that  the  law  of 

40  Moses  never  could  absolve  you  from.  Beware  then  in  case 
the  prophetic  saying  applies  to  you: 

41  Look,  you  disdainful  folk,  wonder  at  this  and  perish — 
for  in  your  days  I  do  a  deed, 

a  deed  you  will  never  believe,  not  though  one  were  to 
explain  it  to  you.'" 

42  As  Paul  and  Barnabas  went  out,  the  people  begged  to  have 

43  all  this  repeated  to  them  on  the  following  sabbath.  After 
the  synagogue  broke  up,  a  number  of  the  Jews  and  the 
devout  proselytes  followed  them;  Paul  and  Barnabas  talked 
to  them  and  encouraged  them  to  hold  by  the  grace  of  God. 

44  And  on  the  next  sabbath  nearly  all  the  town  gathered  to 

45  hear  the  word  of  the  Lord.  But  when  the  Jews  saw  the 
crowds  they  were  filled  with  jealousy;   they  began  to  con- 

46  tradict  what  Paul  said  and  to  abuse  him.  So  Paul  and 
Barnabas  spoke  out  fearlessly.  "The  word  of  God,"  they 
said,  "had  to  be  spoken  to  you  in  the  first  instance;  but 
as  you  push  it  aside  and  judge  yourselves  unworthy  of  eter- 

47  nal  life,  well,  here  we  turn  to  the  Gentiles!  For  these  are 
the  Lord's  orders   to  us: 

/  have  set  you  to  be  a  light  for  the  Oentiles, 
to  bring  salvation  to  the  end  of  the  earth." 

48  When  the  Gentiles  heard  this  they  rejoiced  and  glorified 
the  word  of  the  Lord  and  believed,  that  is,  all  who  had 

49  been  ordained  to  eternal  life;    and  the  word  of  the  Lord 

50  went  far  and  wide  over  the  whole  country.  But  the  Jews 
incited  the  devout  women  of  high  rank  and  the  leading 
men  in  the  town,  who  stirred  up  persecution  against  Paul 

51  and  Barnabas  and  drove  them  out  of  their  territory.  They 
shook   the   dust   off  their  feet  as   a   protest   and   went   to 

52  Iconium.  As  for  the  disciples,  they  were  filled  with  joy 
and  the  holy  Spirit. 


THE  ACTS  XIV  199 

UAt   Iconium  the   same   thing  happened.     They  went 
into  the  synagogue  of  the  Jews  and  spoke  in  such  a 
way  that  a  great  body  both  of  Jews  and  Greeks  believed. 

3  Here  they  spent  a  considerable  time,  speaking  fearlessly 
about  the  Lord,  who  attested  the  word  of  his  grace  by  allow- 

2  ing  signs  and  wonders  to  be  performed  by  them.*  But  the 
refractory  Jews  stirred  up  and  exasperated  the  feeling  of  the 

4  Gentiles  against  the  brothers.  The  populace  of  the  town  was 
divided;  some  sided  with  the  Jews,  some  with  the  apostles. 

5  But,  when  the  Gentiles  and  Jews  along  with  their  rulers 

6  made  a  hostile  movement  to  insult  and  stone  them,  the 
apostles  grasped  the  situation  and  escaped  to  the  Lyca- 
onian  towns  of  Lystra  and  Derbe  and  to  the  surrounding 

7  country;  there  they  continued  to  preach  the  gospel. 

8  At  Lystra  there  was  a  man  sitting,  who  was  powerless 
in  his  feet,  a  lame  man  unable  to  walk  ever  since  he  was 

9  born.  He  heard  Paul  speaking,  and  Paul,  gazing  steadily 
at  him  and  noticing  that  he  had  faith  enough  to  make  him 

10  better,  said  in  a  loud  voice,  "Stand  erect  on  your  feet." 

11  Up  he  jumped  and  began  to  walk.  Now  when  the  crowds 
saw  what  Paul  had  done,  they  shouted  in  the  Lycaonian 
language,    "The    gods   have   come    down   to    us   in  human 

12  form!"      Barnabas    they    called   Zeus,    and    Paul    Hermes, 

13  since  he  was  the  chief  spokesman.  Indeed  the  priest  of 
the  temple  of  Zeus  in  front  of  the  town  brought  oxen  and 
garlands   to   the   gates,   intending  to   offer   sacrifice   along 

14  with  the  crowds.  But  when  the  apostles,  Paul  and  Barna- 
bas,  heard   this   they   rent   their   clothes   and   sprang  out 

15  among  the  crowd,  shouting,  "Men,  what  is  this  you  are 
doing?  We  are  but  human,  with  natures  like  your  own! 
The  gospel  we  are  preaching  to  you  is  to  turn  from  such 
futile  ways  to  the  living  God  who  made  the  heaven,  the 

16  earth,  the  sea,  and  all  that  in  them  is.     In  bygone  ages 

17  he  allowed  all  nations  to  go  their  own  ways,  though  as  the 
bountiful  Giver  he  did  not  leave  himself  without  a  witness, 
giving  you  rain  from  heaven  and  fruitful  seasons,  giving 

18  you  food  and  joy  to  your  heart's  content."  Even  by  saying 
this  it  was  all  they  could  do  to  keep  the  crowds  from 
sacrificing  to  them. 

19  But  Jews  from  Antioch  and  Iconium  arrived,  who  won 
over  the  crowds,  and  after  pelting  Paul  with  stones  they 
dragged    him    outside    the    town,    thinking    he    was    dead. 

20  However,  as  the  disciples  gathered  round  him,  he  got  up 
and  went  into  the  town. 

21  Next  day  he  went  off  with  Barnabas  to  Derbe,  and  after 

*  Restoring  ver.  3  to  what  appears  to  have  been  its  original  position 
between  vers.  1  and  2. 


200  THE  ACTS  XV 

preaching  the  gospel  to  that  town  and  making  a  number 
of  disciples,  they  turned  back  to  Lystra,  Iconium  and  An- 

22  tioch,  strengthening  the  souls  of  the  disciples,  encouraging 
them  to  hold  by  the  faith,  and  telling  them  that  "we  have 
to  get  into  the  Realm  of  God  through  many  a  trouble." 

23  They  chose  presbyters  for  them  in  every  church,  and  with 
prayer  and  fasting  entrusted  them  to  the  Lord  in  whom 

24  they   had  believed.     Then   they  came   through   Pisidia  to 

25  Pamphylia,  and  after  speaking  the  word  of  the  Lord  in 

26  Perga  they  went  down  to  Attaleia;  thence  they  sailed  for 
Antioch,  where  they  had  been  commended  to  the  grace  of 
God   for    the    work    they    had    now    completed.      On    their 

27  arrival  they  gathered  the  church  together  and  reported 
how  God  had  been  with  them,  what  he  had  done,  and  how 
he  had  opened  a  door  into  faith  for  the  Gentiles. 

28  They  spent  a  considerable  time  with  the  disciples  there. 
-1  ^  But  certain  individuals  came  down  from  Jerusalem  and 
1  O  taught  the  brothers  that  "unless  you  get  circumcised 

2  after  the  custom  of  Moses  you  cannot  be  saved."  As  a  sharp 
dispute  and  controversy  sprang  up  between  them  and  Paul 
and  Barnabas,  it  was  arranged  that  Paul  and  Barnabas, 
along  with  some  others  of  their  number,  should  go  up  to 
Jerusalem  to  see  the  apostles  and  presbyters  at  Jerusalem 

3  about  this  question.  The  church  sped  them  on  their  jour- 
ney, and  they  passed  through  both  Phoenicia  and  Syria 
informing  the  brothers,  to  the  great  joy  of  all,  that  the" 

4  Gentiles  were  turning  to  God.  On  arriving  at  Jerusalem 
they  were  received  by  the  church,  the  apostles  and  the 
presbyters,  and  they  reported  how  God  had  been  with  them 

5  and  what  he  had  done.  But  some  of  the  believers  who 
belonged  to  the  Pharisaic  party  got  up  and  said,  "Gentiles 
must  be  circumcised  and  told  to  observe  the  law  of  Moses." 

6  The   apostles   and  the  presbyters  met  to   investigate   this 

7  question,  and  a  keen  controversy  sprang  up;  but  Peter 
rose  and  said  to  them,  "Brothers,  you  are  well  aware  that 
from  the  earliest  days  God  chose  that  of  you  all  I  should 
be  the  one  by  whom  the  Gentiles  were  to  hear  the  word 

8  of  the  gospel  and  believe  it.  The  God  who  reads  the 
hearts  of  all  attested  this  by  giving  them  the  holy  Spirit 

9  just  as  he  gave  it  to  us;  in  cleansing  their  hearts  by  faith 
he  made  not  the  slightest  distinction  between  us  and  them. 

10  Well  now,  why  are  you  trying  *  to  impose  a  yoke  on  the 
neck   of  the   disciples  which  neither  our  fathers  nor  we 

11  ourselves  could  bear?  No,  it  is  by  the  grace  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  that  we  believe  and  are  saved,  in  the  same  way  as 

12  they  are,"    So  the  whole  meeting  was  quieted  and  listened 

*  Omitting  rbv  dibv. 


THE  ACTS  XV  201 

to  Barnabas  and  Paul  recounting  the  signs  and  wonders 

13  God  had  performed  by  them  among  the  Gentiles.  When 
they  had  finished  speaiting,  James  spoke.     "Brothers,"  he 

14  said,  "listen  to  me.  Symeon  has  explained  how  it  was 
God's  original  concern  to  secure  a  People  from  among  the 

15  Gentiles  to  bear  his  Name.  This  agrees  with  the  words  of 
the  prophets;  as  it  is  written, 

16  After  this  I  will  return  and  rebuild  David^s  fallen  tent, 

its  ruins  I  will  rebuild  and  erect  it  anew, 

17  that  the  rest  of  men  may  seek  for  the  Lord, 

even  all  the  Gentiles  who  are  called  by  my  name, 
Jl   saith  the  Lord,  tvho  makes  this  known  from  of  old.   Hence, 
in  my  opinion,  we  ought  not  to  put  fresh  difficulties  in  the 
way  of  those  who   are  turning  to   God  from   among  the 

20  Gentiles,  but  write  them  injunctions  to  abstain  from  what- 
ever is  contaminated  by  idols,  from  sexual  vice,  from  the 
flesh  of  animals  that  have  been  strangled,  and  from  tasting 

21  blood;  for  Moses  has  had  his  preachers  from  the  earliest 
ages  in  every  town,  where  he  is  read  aloud  in  the  syna- 

22  gogues  every  sabbath."  Then  the  apostles  and  the  presby- 
ters, together  with  the  whole  church,  decided  to  select 
some  of  their  number  and  send  them  with  Paul  and  Bar- 
nabas to  Antioch.  The  men  selected  were  Judas  (called 
Bar-Sabbas)  and  Silas,  prominent  members  of  the  brother- 

23  hood.  They  conveyed  the  following  letter.  "The  apostles 
and  the  presbyters  of  the  brotherhood  to  the*  brothers  who 
belong  to  the  Gentiles  throughout  Antioch  and  Syria  and 

24  Cilicia:  greeting.  Having  learned  that  some  of  our 
number,*    quite   unauthorized   by   us,    have   unsettled   you 

25  with  their  teaching  and  upset  your  souls,  we  have  decided 
unanimously  to  select  some  of  our  number  and  send  them 

26  to  you  along  with  our  beloved  Paul  and  Barnabas  who 
have   risked  their  lives  for  the   sake  of  our  Lord  Jesus 

27  Christ.  We  therefore  send  Judas  and  Silas  with  the 
following  message,  which  they  will  also  give  to  you  orally. 

28  The  holy  Spirit  and  we  have  decided  not  to  impose  any 
extra  burden  on  you,  apart  from  these  essential  require- 

29  ments:  abstain  from  food  that  has  been  offered  to  idols, 
from  tasting  blood,  from  the  flesh  of  animals  that  have 
been  strangled,  and  from  sexual  vice.     Keep  clear  of  all 

30  this  and  you  will  prosper.  Goodbye."  When  the  mes- 
sengers were  despatched,  they  went  down  to  Antioch  and 
after   gathering   the   whole   body    they   handed    them    the 

31  letter.     On  reading  it  the  people  rejoiced  at  the  encourage- 

32  ment  it  brought;  and  as  Judas  and  Silas  were  themselves 
prophets,  they  encouraged  and  strengthened  the  brothers 

*  Omitting  i^eXdovTes. 


202  THE  ACTS  XVI 

33  with  many  a  counsel.  Then  after  some  time  had  passed  the 
brothers  let  them  go  with  a  greeting  of  peace  to  those  who 

35  had  sent  them.  Paul  and  Barnabas,  however,  stayed  on  in 
Antioch,  teaching  and  preaching  the  word  of  the  Lord 
along  with  a  number  of  others. 

36  Some  days  later,  Paul  said  to  Barnabas,  "Come  and  let 
us  go  back  to  visit  the  brothers  in  every  town  where  we 
have  proclaimed  the  word  of  the  Lord.     Let  us  see  how 

37  they   are    doing."      But   while    Barnabas    wanted    to    take 

38  John  (who  was  called  Mark)  along  with  them,  Paul  held 
they  should  not  take  a  man  with  them  who  had  deserted 
them    in    Pamphylia,    instead    of    accompanying   them    on 

39  active  service.     So  in  irritation  they  parted  company,  Bar- 

40  nabas  taking  Mark  with  him  and  sailing  for  Cyprus,  while 
Paul    selected    Silas    and    went    oiT,    commended    by    the 

41  brothers  to  the  grace  of  the  Lord.  He  made  his  way 
through  Syria  and  Cilicia,  strengthening  the  churches. 

1  /:*  He  also  came  down  to  Derbe  and  Lystra,  where  there 
l  v)  was  a  disciple  called  Timotheus,  the  son  of  a  believ- 

2  ing  Jewess  and  a  Greek  father.     He  had  a  good  reputation 

3  among  the  brothers  at  Lystra  and  Iconium;  so,  as  Paul 
wished  him  to  go  abroad  with  him,  he  took  and  circumcised 
him  on  account  of  the  local  Jews,  all  of  whom  knew  his 

4  father  had  been  a  Greek.  As  they  travelled  on  from  town 
to  town,  they  handed  over  to  the  people  the  resolutions 
which  the  apostles  and  the  presbyters  in  Jerusalem  had 

5  decided  were  to  be  obeyed;  and  the  churches  were 
strengthened  in  the  faith  and  increased  in  numbers  day 

6  by  day.  They  crossed  Phrygia  and  the  country  of  Galatia, 
the  holy  Spirit  having  stopped  them  from  preaching  the 

7  word  in  Asia;  when  they  got  as  far  as  Mysia,  they  tried 
to  enter  Bithynia,  but  the  Spirit  of  Jesus  would  not  allow 

8  them,   and   so   they   passed   Mysia  by   and   went   down   to 

9  Troas.  A  vision  appeared  to  Paul  by  night,  the  vision  of 
a   Macedonian   standing   and   appealing  to   him   with   the 

10  words,  "Cross  to  Macedonia  and  help  us."  As  soon  as  he 
saw  the  vision,  we  made  efforts  to  start  for  Macedonia, 
inferring  that  God  had  called  us  to  preach  the  gospel  to 

11  them.     Setting  sail  then  from  Troas  WQ  ran  straight  to 

12  Samothrace  and  on  the  following  day  to  Neapolis.  We 
then  came  to  the  Roman  colony  of  Philippi,  which  is  the 
foremost  town  of  the  district  of  Macedonia.     In  this  town 

13  we  spent  some  days.  On  the  sabbath  we  went  outside  the 
gate  to  the  bank  of  the  river,  where  as  usual  there  was  a 
place  of  prayer;  we  sat  down  and  talked  to  the  women  who 

14  had  gathered.  Among  the  listeners  there  was  a  woman 
called  Lydia,  a  dealer  in  purple  who  belonged  to  the  town 
of  Thyatira.     She  reverenced  God,  and  the  Lord  opened 


THE  ACTS  XVI  203 

15  her  heart  to  attend  to  what  Paul  said.  When  she  was 
baptized,  along  with  her  household,  she  begged  us,  saying, 
"If  you  are  convinced  I  am  a  believer  in  the  Lord,  come 
and  stay  at  my  house,"    She  compelled  us  to  come. 

16  Now  it  happened  as  we  went  to  the  place  of  prayer  that 
a  slave-girl  met  us,  possessed  by  a  spirit  of  ventriloquism, 
and  a  source  of  great  profit  to  her  owners  by  her  power 

17  of  fortune-telling.  She  followed  Paul  and  the  rest  of  us, 
shrieking,  "These  men  are  servants  of  the  Most  High  God, 

18  they  proclaim  to  you  the  way  of  salvation!"  She  did  this 
for  a  number  of  days.  Then  Paul  turned  in  annoyance  and 
told  the  spirit,  "In  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  I  order  you 

19  out  of  her!"  Ana  it  left  her  that  very  moment.  But  when 
her  owners  saw  their  chance  of  profit  was  gone,  they  caught 
hold  of  Paul  and  Silas  and  dragged  them  before  the  mag- 

20  istrates  in  the  forum.  Bringing  them  before  the  praetors 
they  declared,   "These  fellows  are  Jews  who  are  making 

21  an  agitation  in  our  town;  they  are  proclaiming  customs 
which  as  Romans  we  are  not  allowed  to  accept  or  observe!" 

22  The  crowd  also  joined  in  the  attack  upon  them,  while  the 
praetors,   after  having  them   stripped  and  after  ordering 

23  them  to  be  flogged  with  rods,  had  many  lashes  inflicted 
on  them  and  put  them  into  prison,  charging  the  jailer  to 

24  keep  them  safe.  On  receiving  so  strict  a  charge,  he  put 
them  into  the  inner  prison  and  secured  their  feet  in  the 

25  stocks.  But  about  midnight,  as  Paul  and  Silas  were  pray- 
ing   and    singing    to    God,    while    the    prisoners    listened, 

26  all  of  a  sudden  there  was  a  great  earthquake  which  shook 
the  very  foundations  of  the  prison;  the  doors  all  flew  open 
in  an  instant  and  the  fetters  of  all  the  prisoners  were  un- 

27  fastened.  When  the  jailer  started  from  his  sleep  and  saw 
the  prison-doors  open,  he  drew  his  sword  and  was  on  the 
point  of  killing  himself,  supposing    the  prisoners  had  made 

28  their  escape;  but  Paul  shouted  aloud,  "Do  not  harm  your- 

29  self,  we  are  all  here!"     So  calling  for  lights  he  rushed  in, 

30  fell  in  terror  before  Paul  and  Silas,  and  brought  them  out 
(after  securing  the  other  prisoners).*       "Sirs,"   he  said, 

31  "what  must  I  do  to  be  saved?"  "Believe  in  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,"  they  said,  "and  then  you  will  be  saved,  you  and 

32  your  household  as  well."    And  they  spoke  the  word  of  the 

33  Lord  to  him  and  to  all  in  his  house.  Then  he  took  them 
at  that  very  hour  of  the  night  and  washed  their  wounds 

34  and  got  baptized  instantly,  he  and  all  his  family.  He  took 
them  up  to  his  house  and  put  food  before  them,  overjoyed 

35  like  all  his  household  at  having  believed  in  God.     When 

*  Adding  tous  Xot7roi>s  a.a<pa\Lad/j.€Pos  with  D  and  the  (Harklean)  Syriac 
version. 


204  THE  ACTS  XVII 

day  broke,  the  praetors  sent  the  lictors  with  the  message, 

36  "Release  these  men."  The  jailer  repeated  this  to  Paul. 
"The  praetors,"  he   said,   "have  sent  to  release  you.     So 

37  come  out  and  go  in  peace?"  But  Paul  replied,  "They  flogged 
us  in  public  and  without  a  trial,  flogged  Roman  citizens! 
They  put  us  in  prison,  and  now  they  are  going  to  get  rid 
of  us  secretly!     No  indeed!     Let  them  come  here  them- 

38  selves  and  take  us  out!"  The  lictors  reported  this  to  the 
praetors,  who,  on  hearing  the  men  were  Roman  citizens, 

39  became  alarmed;  they  went  to  appease  them  and  after  tak- 
ing them  out  of  prison  begged  them  to  leave  the  town. 

40  So  they  left  the  prison  and  went  to  Lydia's  house,  where 
they  saw  the  brothers  and  encouraged  them;  then  they 
departed. 

I'y  Travelling    on    through    Amphipolis    and    ApoUonia 
/   they  reached  Thessalonica.     Here  there  was  a  Jewish 

2  synagogue,  and  Paul  as  usual  went  in;  for  three  sabbaths 

3  he  argued  with  them  on  the  scriptures,  explaining  and 
quoting  passages  to  prove  that  the  messiah  had  to  suffer 
and  rise  from  the  dead,  and  that  "the  Jesus  I  proclaim  to 

4  you  is  the  messiah."  Some  were  persuaded  and  threw  in 
their  lot  with  Paul  and  Silas,  including  a  host  of  devout 

5  Greeks  and  a  large  number  of  the  leading  women.  But  the 
Jews  were  aroused  to  jealousy;  they  got  hold  of  some  idle 
rascals  to  form  a  mob  and  set  the  town  in  an  uproar;  they 
attacked   Jason's   house   in   the   endeavour  to   bring   them 

6  out  before  the  populace,  but  as  they  failed  to  find  Paul 
and  Silas  they  haled  Jason  and  some  of  the  brothers  before 
the  politarchs,  yelling,  "These  upsetters  of  the  whole  world 

7  have  come  here  too!  Jason  has  welcomed  them!  They 
all  violate  the  decrees  of  Caesar  by  declaring  someone  elsQ 

8  called  Jesus  is  king."     Both  the  crowd  and  the  politarchs 

9  were  disturbed  when  they  heard  this;  however,  they  let 
*Jason  and  the  others  go,  after  binding  them  over  to  keep 

10  the  peace.  Then  the  brothers  at  once  sent  off  Paul  and 
Silas  by  night  to  Bercea.     When  they  arrived  there,  they 

11  betook  themselves  to  the  Jewish  synagogue,  where  the  peo- 
ple were  more  amenable  than  at  Thessalonica;  they  were 
perfectly  ready  to  receive  the  Word  and  made  a  daily 
study  of  the  scriptures  to  see  if  it  was  really  as  Paul  said. 

12  Many  of  them  believed,  together  with  a  large  number  of 

13  prominent  Greeks,  both  women  and  men.  But  when  the 
Jews  of  Thessalonica  heard  that  Paul  was  proclaiming  the 
word  of  God  at  Bercea  as  well,  they  came  to  create  a  dis- 

14  turbance  and  a  riot  among  the  crowds  at  Bercea  too.  The 
brothers  then  sent  off  Paul  at  once  on  his  way  to  the  sea, 
while    Silas    and    Timotheus    remained    where    they    were. 

15  Paul's  escort  brought  him  as  far  as  Athens  and  left  with 


THE  ACTS  XVII  205 

instructions  that   Silas  and  Timotheus  were  to  join  him 
as  soon  as  possible. 

16  While  Paul  was  waiting  for  them  at  Athens,  his  soul 
was  irritated  at  the  sight  of  the  idols  that  filled  the  city. 

17  He  argued  in  the  synagogue  with  the  Jews  and  the  devout 
proselytes  and  also  in  the  marketplace   daily  with  those 

18  who  chanced  to  he  present.  Some  of  the  Epicurean  and 
Stoic  philosophers  also  came  across  him.  Some  said, 
"Whatever  does  the  fellow  mean  with  his  scraps  of  learn  • 
ing?"  Others  said,  "He  looks  like  a  herald  of  foreign 
deities"    (this   was  because   he   preached    'Jesus'   and    'the 

19  Resurrection').  Then  taking  him  to  the  Areopagus  they 
asked,  "May  we  know  what  is  this  novel  teaching  of  yours? 

20  You  talk  of  some  things  that  sound  strange  to  us;   so  we 

21  want  to  know  what  they  mean."  (For  all  tha  Athenians 
and  the  foreign  visitors  to  Athens  occupied  themselves  with 
nothing    else    than    repeating    or    listening    to    the    latest 

22  novelty.)  So  Paul  stood  in  the  middle  of  the  Areopagus 
and  said,  "Men  of  Athens,  I  observe  at  every  turn  that  you 

23  are  a  most  religious  people.  Why,  as  I  passed  along  and 
scanned  your  objects  of  worship,  I  actually  came  upon  an 
altar  with  the  inscription 

TO   AN    UNKNOWN    GOD. 

Well,  I  proclaim  to  you  what  you  worship  in  your  ignorance. 

24  The  God  ivJio  made  the  world  and  all  things  in  it,  he,  as 
Lord  of  heaven  and  earth,  does  not  dwell  in  shrines  that 

25  are  made  by  human  hands;  he  is  not  served  by  human 
hands  as  if  he  needed  anything,  for  it  is  he  who  gives  life 

26  and  l>reath  and  all  things  to  all  men.  All  nations  he  has 
created  from  a  common  origin,  to  dwell  all  over  the  earth,, 
fixing  their  allotted  periods  and  the  boundaries   of  their 

27  abodes,  meaning  them  to  seek  for  God  on  the  chance  of 
finding  him  in  their  groping  for  him.     Though  indeed  he 

28  is  close  to  each  one  of  us,  for  it  is  in  him  that  we  live  and 
move  and  exist — as  some  of  your  own  poets  have  said, 

'We  too  belong  to  His  race.' 

29  Well,  as  the  race  of  God,  we  ought  not  to  imagine  that  the 
divine  nature  resembles  gold  or  silver  or  stone,  the  product 

30  of  human  art  and  invention.  Such  ages  of  ignorance  God 
overlooked,    but   he    now   charges    men   that   they    are   all 

31  everywhere  to  repent,  inasmuch  as  he  has  fixed  a  day  on 
which  he  ivill  judge  the  world  justly  by  a  man  whom  he 
has  destined  for  this.     And  he  has  given  proof  of  this  to 

32  all  by  raising  him  from  the  dead."  But  on  hearing  of  a 
'resurrection  of  dead  men,'  some  sneered,  while  others  said, 

33  "We  will  hear  you  again  on  that  subject."     So  Paul  with- 

34  drew  from  them.     Some  men,  however,  did  join  him  and 


206  THE  ACTS  XVIII 

believe,  including  Dionysius  the  Areopagite,  a  woman  called 
Damaris,  and  some  others. 

1  o  After   this   Paul   left   Athens   and   went   to   Corinth. 

2  1  O  There  he  came  across  a  Jew  called  Aquila,  a  native 
of  Pontus,  who  had  recently  arrived  from  Italy  with  his 
wife  Priscilla,  as  Claudius  had  ordered  all  Jews  to  leave 

3  Rome.  Paul  accosted  them,  and  as  he  belonged  to  the 
same    trade   he   stayed   with   them   and    they   all   worked 

4  together.  (They  were  workers  in  leather  by  trade.)  Every 
sabbath  he  argued  in  the  synagogue,  persuading  both  Jews 

5  and  Greeks.  By  the  time  Silas  and  Timotheus  came  south 
from  Macedonia,  Paul  was  engrossed  in  this  preaching  of 
the  word,  arguing  to  the  Jews  that  the  messiah  was  Jesus. 

6  But  as  they  opposed  and  abused  him,  he  shook  out  his 
garments  in  protest,  saying,  "Your  blood  be  on  your  own 
heads!     I  am  not  responsible!     After  this  I  will  go  to  the 

7  Gentiles."  Then  he  removed  to  the  house  of  a  devout 
proselyte   called   Titus   Justus,   which   adjoined   the    syna- 

8  gogue.  But  Crispus  the  president  of  the  synagogue  believed 
in  the  Lord,  as   did  all  his  household,  and  many  of  the 

9  Corinthians  listened,  believed,  and  were  baptized.  And  the 
Lord  said  to  Paul  in  a  vision  by  night,  "Have  no  fear,  speak 

10  on  and  never  stop,  for  I  am  with  you,  and  no  one  shall 
attack  and  injure  you;   I  have  many  people  in  this  city." 

11  So  he  settled  there  for  a  year  and  six  months,  teaching 
them  the  word  of  God. 

12  But  when  Gallio  was  proconsul  of  Achaia  the  Jews  with- 
out exception  rose  against  Paul  and  brought  him  up  be- 

13  fore    the    tribunal,    crying,    "This    fellow    incites    men    to 

14  worship  God  contrary  to  the  Law."  Paul  was  just  on  the 
point  of  opening  his  lips  to  reply,  when  Gallio  said  to  the 
Jews,  "If  it  had  been  a  misdemeanour  or  wicked  crime, 
there  would  be  some  reason  in  me  listening  to  you,  O  Jews 

15  But  as  these  are  merely  questions  of  words  and  persons 
and  your  own  Law,  you  can  attend  to  them  for  your- 
selves.    I  decline  to  adjudicate  upon  matters   like  that." 

}2  And  he  drove  them  from  the  tribunal.  Then  all  [the 
Greeks]  caught  hold  of  Sosthenes  the  president  of  the 
synagogue  and  beat  him  in  front  of  the  tribunal;  but 
Gallio  took  no  notice. 

18  After  waiting  on  for  a  number  of  days  Paul  said  good- 
bye to  the  brothers  and  sailed  for  Syria,  accompanied  by 
Priscilla  and   Aquila.      (As  the   latter  was   under   a  vow, 

19  he  had  his  head  shaved  at  Cenchreae.)  When  they  reached 
Ephesus,  Paul  left  them  there.     He  went  to  the  synagogue 

20  and  argued  with  the  Jews,  who  asked  him  to  stay  for  a 

21  while.    But  he  would  not  consent;  he  said  goodbye  to  them, 


THE  ACTS  XIX  207 

telling  them,  "I  will  come  back  to  you,  if  it  is  the  will  of 

22  God."  Then,  sailing  from  Ephesus,  he  reached  Caesarea, 
went  up  to  the  capital  to  salute  the  church,  and  travelled 

23  down  to  Antioch.  After  spending  some  time  there  he  went 
off  on  a  journey  right  through  the  country  of  Galatia  and 
Phrygia,  strengthening  the  disciples. 

24  There  came  to  Ephesus  a  Jew  called  Apollos,  who  was 
a  native  of  Alexandria,  a  man  of  culture,  strong  in  his 

25  knowledge  of  the  scriptures.  He  had  been  instructed  in 
the  Way  of  the  Lord  and  he  preached  and  taught  about 
Jesus  with  ardour  and  accuracy,  though  all  the  baptism  he 

26  knew  was  that  of  John.  In  the  synagogue  he  was  very 
outspoken  at  first;  but  when  Aquila  and  Priscilla  listened 
to  him,  they  took  him  home  and  explained  more  accurately 

27  to  him  what  the  Way  of  God  really  meant.  As  he  wished 
to  cross  to  Achaia,  the  brothers  wrote  and  urged  the  dis- 
ciples there  to  give  him  a  welcome.  And  on  his  arrival  he 
proved  of  great  service  to  those  who  by  God's  grace  had 

28  believed,  for  he  publicly  refuted  the  Jews  with  might  and 
main,  showing  from  the  scriptures  that  the  messiah  was 
Jesus. 

1Q  It  was  when  Apollos  was  in  Corinth  that  Paul,  after 
*^  passing  through  the  inland  districts,  came  down  to 

2  Ephesus.  There  he  found  some  disciples,  whom  he  asked, 
"Did  you  receive  the  holy  Spirit  when  you  believed?" 
"No,"  they  said,   "we  never  even  heard  of  its  existence." 

3  "Then,"  said  he,  "what  were  you  baptized  in?"     "In  John's 

4  baptism,"  they  replied.  "John,"  said  Paul,  "baptized  with 
a  baptism  of  repentance,  telling  the  people  to  believe  in 
Him    who    was    to    come    after    him,    that    is,    in    Jesus." 

5  When  they  heard   this,   they  had   themselves  baptized   in 

6  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  after  Paul  laid  his  hands 
on  them  the  holy  Spirit  came  upon  them,  they  spoke  with 

7  'tongues'  and  prophesied.  They  numbered  all  together 
about  twelve  men. 

8  Then  Paul  entered  the  synagogue  and  for  three  months 
spoke  out  fearlessly,  arguing  and  persuading  people  about 

9  the  Reign  of  God.  But  as  some  grew  stubborn  and  dis- 
obedient, decrying  the  Way  in  presence  of  the  multitude, 
he  left  them,  withdrew  the  disciples,  and  continued  his 
argument  every  day  from  eleven  to  four*  in  the  lecture- 

10  room  of  Tyrannus.  This  went  on  for  two  years,  so  that 
all  the  inhabitants  of  Asia,  Jews  as  well  as  Greeks,  heard 
the  word  of  the  Lord. 

11  God  also  worked  no  ordinary  miracles  by  means  of  Paul; 

*  The  words  dirb  wpas  ir4fj.irTr]s  ^ws  deKOLTrjs  (D,  etc.)  are  probably  original. 


208  THE  ACTS  XIX 

12  people  even  carried  away  towels  or  aprons  he  had  used, 
and  at  their  touch  sick  folk  were  freed  from  their  diseases 

13  and  evil  spirits  came  out  of  them.  Some  strolling  Jewish 
exorcists  also  undertook  to  pronounce  the  name  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  over  those  who  had  evil  spirits,   saying,   "I   adjure 

14  you  by  the  Jesus  whom  Paul  preaches!"     The  seven  sons 

15  of  Sceuas,  a  Jewish  high  priest,  used  to  do  this.  But  the 
evil  spirit  retorted,  "Jesus  I  know  and  Paul  I  know,  but 

16  you — who  are  you?"  And  the  man  in  whom  the  evil  spirit 
resided  leapt  at  them,  overpowered  them  all,  and  be- 
laboured them,  till  they  rushed  out  of  the  house  stripped 

17  and  wounded.  This  came  to  the  ears  of  all  the  inhabitants 
of  Ephesus,  Jews  as  well  as  Greeks;  awe  fell  on J;hem  all, 

18  and  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus  was  magnified.  Many  be- 
lievers would  also  come  to  confess  and  disclose  their  magic 

19  spells;  and  numbers  who  had  practised  magic  arts  collected 
their  books  and  burned  them  in  the  presence  of  all.  On 
adding  up  the  value  of  them,  it  was  found  that  they  were 
worth  two  thousand  pounds. 

20  Thus  did  the  word  of  the  Lord  increase  and  prevail 
mightily. 

21  After  these  events  Paul  resolved  in  the  Spirit  to  travel 
through  Macedonia  and  Achaia  on  his  way  to  Jerusalem. 
"After   I  get   there,"   he  said,   "I   must  also  visit   Rome." 

22  So  he  despatched  two  of  his  assistants  to  Macedonia, 
Timotheus  and  Erastus,  while  he  himself  stayed  on  awhile 

23  in  Asia.     It  was  about  that  time  that  a  great  commotion 

24  arose  over  the  Way.  This  was  how  it  happened.  By  mak- 
ing silver  shrines  of  Artemis  a  silversmith  called  Demetrius 

25  was  the  means  of  bringing  rich  profit  to  his  workmen.  So 
he  got  them  together,  along  with  the  workmen  who  be- 
longed to  similar  trades,  and  said  to  them:   "My  men,  you 

26  know  this  trade  is  the  source  of  our  wealth.  You  also  see 
and  hear  that  not  only  at  Ephesus  but  almost  all  over 
Asia  this  fellow  Paul  has  drawn  off  a  considerable  number 
of  people  by  his  persuasions.     He  declares  that  hand-made 

27  gods  are  not  gods  at  all.  Now  the  danger  is  not  only  that 
we  will  have  our  trade  discredited  but  that  the  temple 
of  the  great  goddess  Artemis  will  fall  into  contempt  and 
that  she   will   be   degraded  from   her   majestic  glory,   she 

28  whom  all  Asia  and  the  wide  world  worship."  When  they 
heard  this  they  were  filled  with  rage  and  raised  the  cry, 

29  "Great  is  Artemis  of  Ephesus!"  So  the  city  was  filled  with 
confusion.  They  rushed  like  one  man  into  the  amphi- 
theatre,   dragging   along    Gains    and    Aristarchus,    Macedo- 

30  nians  who  were  travelling  with  Paul.  (Paul  wanted  to  enter 
the  popular  assembly,  but  the   disciples   would   not  allow 

31  him.     Some  of  the  Asiarchs,  who  were  friends  of  his,  also 


THE  ACTS  XX  209 

sent  to  beg   him  not  to  venture  into  the  amphitheatre.) 

32  Some  were  shouting  one  thing,  some  another;  for  the 
assembly  was  in  confusion,  and  the  majority  had  no  idea 

33  why  they  had  met.  Some  of  the  mob  concluded  it  must  be 
Alexander,  as  the  Jews  pushed  him  to  the  front.  So  Alex- 
ander, motioning  with  his  hand,  wanted  to  defend  himself 

34  before  the  people;  but  when  they  discovered  he  was  a  Jew, 
a  roar  broke  from  them  all,  and  for  about  two  hours  they 
shouted,  "Great  is  Artemis  of  Ephesus!     Great  is  Artemis 

35  of  Ephesus!"  The  secretary  of  state  then  got  the  mob 
calmed  down,  and  said  to  them,  "Men  of  Ephesus,  who  on 
earth  does  not  know  that  the  city  of  Ephesus  is  Warden 
of  the  temple  of  the  great  Artemis  and  of  the  statue  that 

36  fell   from  heaven?     All   this   is  beyond   question.     So   you 

37  should  keep  calm  and  do  nothing  reckless.  Instead  of  that, 
you  have  brought  these  men  here  who  are  guilty  neither  of 

38  sacrilege  nor  of  blasphemy  against  our  goddess.  If  Deme- 
trius and  his  fellow  tradesmen  have  a  grievance  against 
anybody,  let  both  parties  state  their  charges;   assizes  are 

39  held  and  there  are  always  the  proconsuls.  Any  wider  claim 
must    be    settled    in    the    legal    assembly    of    the    citizens. 

40  Indeed  there  is  a  danger  of  our  being  charged  with  riot 
over  to-day's  meeting;   there  is  not  a  single  reason  we  can 

41  give  for  this  disorderly  gathering."  With  these  words  he 
dismissed  the  assembly. 

or\  Whe]y  the  tumult  had  ceased,  Paul  sent  for  the  dis- 
-^v/  ciples  and  encouraged  them;    he  then  took  leave  of 

2  them  and  went  his  way  to  Macedonia.  After  passing 
through  the   districts   of  Macedonia  and   encouraging  the 

3  people  at  length,  he  came  to  Greece,  where  he  spent  three 
months.  Just  as  he  was  on  the  point  of  sailing  for  Syria, 
the  Jews  laid  a  plot  against  him.     He  therefore  resolved  to 

4  return  through  Macedonia.  His  company  as  far  as  Asia 
consisted  of  Sopater  of  Beroea  (the  son  of  Pyrrhus), 
Aristarchus  and  Secundus  from  Thessalonica,  Gains  of 
Derbe,  Timotheus,  and  Tychicus  and  Trophimus  from  Asia. 

I  They  went  on  to  wait  for  us  at  Troas,  while  we  sailed 
from  Philippi,  after  the  days  of  unleavened  bread,  and 
joined    them    five    days    later    at    Troas.      There    we    spent 

7  seven  days.  On  the  first  day  of  the  week  we  met  for  the 
breaking  of  bread;  Paul  addressed  them,  as  he  was  to  leave.- 

8  next  day,  and  he  prolonged  his  address  till  midnight  (there 
were  plenty  of  lamps  in  the  upper  room  where  we  met). 

9  In  the  window  sat  a  young  man  called  Eutychus,  and  as 
Paul's  address  went  on  and  on,  he  got  overcome  with 
drowsiness,    went    fast    asleep,    and    fell    from    the    third 

10  storey.     He  was  picked  up  a  corpse,  but  Paul  went  down- 


210  THE  ACTS  XX 

stairs,  threw  himself  upon  him,  and  embraced  him.     "Do 

11  not  lament,"  he  said,  "the  life  is  still  in  him."  Then  he 
went  upstairs,  broke  bread,  and  ate;  finally,  after  convers- 

12  ing  awhile  with  them  till  the  dawn,  he  went  away.  As  for 
the  lad,  they  took  him  away  alive,  much  to  their  relief. 

13  Now  we  had  gone  on  beforehand  to  the  ship  and  set  sail 
for  Assos,  intending  to  take  Paul  on  board  there.  This  was 
his  own  arrangement,  for  he  intended  to  travel  by  land. 

14  So  when  he  met  us  at  Assos,  we  took  him  on  board  and 

15  got  to  Mitylene.  Sailing  thence  on  the  following  day  we 
arrived  off  Chios;  next  day  we  crossed  over  to  Samos,  and 
[after  stopping  at  Trogy Ilium]    we  went  on  next  day  to 

16  Miletus.  This  was  because  Paul  had  decided  to  sail  past 
Ephesus,  to  avoid  any  loss  of  time  in  Asia;  he  wanted  to 
reach  Jerusalem,  if  possible,  by  the  day  of  Pentecost. 

17  From  Miletus  he  sent  to  Ephesus  for  the  presbyters  of 

18  the  church.  When  they  came  to  him,  he  said,  "You  know 
quite  well  how  I  lived  among  you  all  the  time  ever  since 

19  I  set  foot  in  Asia,  how  I  served  the  Lord  in  all  humility, 
with  many  a  tear  and  many  a  trial  which  I  encountered 

20  owing  to  the  plots  of  the  Jews,  how  I  never  shrank  from 
letting  you  know  anything  for  your  good,  or  from  teaching 

21  you  alike  in  public  and  from  house  to  house,  bearing  my 
testimony,  both  to  Jews  and  Greeks,  of  repentance  before 

22  God  and  faith  in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Now  here  I  go  to 
Jerusalem    under   the   binding   force   of   the   Spirit.     What 

23  will  befall  me  there,  I  do  not  know.  Only,  I  know  this,  that 
in   town   after   town   the   holy   Spirit   testifies   to   me   that 

24  bonds  and  troubles  are  awaiting  me.  But  then,  I  set  no 
value  on  my  own  life  as  compared  with  the  joy  of  finish- 
ing my  course  and  fulfilling  the  commission  I  received 
from  the  Lord  Jesus  to  attest  the  gospel  of  the  grace  of 

25  God.  I  know  to-day  that  not  one  of  you  will  ever  see  my 
face   again — not   one   of  you   among   whom   I   moved   as   I 

26  preached  the  Reign.  Therefore  do  I  protest  before  you 
this  day  that  I  am  not  responsible  for  the  blood  of  any 

27  of  you;   I  never  shrank  from  letting  you  know  the  entire 

28  purpose  of  God.  Take  heed  to  yourselves  and  to  all  the 
flock  of  which  the  holy  Spirit  has  appointed  you  guardians; 
shepherd  the  church  of  the  Lord  which  he  has  jmrchascd 

29  with  his  own  blood.  I  know  that  when  I  am  gone,  fierce 
wolves  will  get  in  among  you,  and  they  will  not  spare  the 

30  flock;  yes,  and  men  of  your  own  number  will  arise  with 
perversions  of  the  truth  to  draw  the  disciples  after  them. 

31  So  be  on  the  alert,  remember  how  for  three  whole  years 
I  never  ceased  night  and  day  to  watch  over  each  one  of 

32  you  with  tears.  And  now  I  entrust  you  to  God  and  the 
v/ord  of  his  grace;  he  is  able  to  upbuild  you  and  give  you 


THE  ACTS  XXI  211 

33  your  inheritance  among  all  the  consecrated.     Silver,  gold, 

34  or  apparel  I  never  coveted;  you  know  yourselves  how  these 
hands  of  mine  provided  everything  for  my  own  needs  and 

35  for  my  comp?nions.  I  showed  you  how  this  was  the  way 
to  work  hard  and  succour  the  needy,  remembering  the 
words  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  who  said,  'To  give  is  happier  than 

36  to  get'  "    With  these  words  he  knelt  down  and  prayed  be- 

37  side  them  all.     They  all  broke  into  loud  lamentation  and 

38  falling  upon  the  neck  of  Paul  kissed  him  fondly,  sorrowing 
chiefly  because  he  told  them  they  would  never  see  his  face 
again.     Then  they  escorted  him  to  the  ship. 

O"!    Whex  we  had  torn  ourselves  away  from  them  and 
■^  1   set  sail,  we  made  a  straight  run  to  Cos,  next  day  to 

2  Rhodes,  and  thence  to  Patara;    as  we  found  a  ship  there 

3  bound  for  Phoenicia,  we  went  on  board  and  set  sail.  After 
sighting  Cyprus  and  leaving  it  on  our  left,  we  sailed  for 
Syria,  landing  at  Tyre,  where  the  ship  was  to  unload  her 

4  cargo.  We  found  out  the  local  disciples  and  stayed  there 
for  seven  days.     These   disciples  told  Paul  by  the   Spirit 

5  not  to  set  foot  in  Jerusalem;  but,  when  our  time  was  up, 
we  started  on  our  journey,  escorted  by  them,  women  and 
children   and    all,    till    we   got    outside    the    town.      Then, 

6  kneeling  on  the  beach,  we  prayed  and  said  goodbye  to  one 

7  another.  We  went  on  board  and  they  went  home.  By 
sailing  from  Tyre  to  Ptolemais  we  completed  our  voyage; 

8  we  saluted  the  brothers,  spent  a  day  with  them,  and  started 
next  morning  for  Caesarea,  where  we  entered  the  house  of 

9  Philip  the  evangelist  (he  belonged  to  the  Seven,  and  had 
four   unmarried   daughters   who   prophesied).     We   stayed 

10  with  him.    While  we  remained  there  for  a  number  of  days, 

11  a  prophet  called  Agabus  came  down  from  Judaea,  He 
came  to  us,  took  Paul's  girdle  and  bound  his  own  feet  and 
hands,  saying,  "Here  is  the  word  of  the  holy  Spirit:  'So 
shall  the  Jews  bind  the  ov/ner  of  this  girdle  at  Jerusalem 

12  and  hand  him  over  to  the  Gentiles'."  Now  when  we  heard 
this,  we  and  the  local  disciples  bcsousht  Paul  not  to  go  up 

13  to  Jerusalem.  Then  Paul  replied,  "What  do  you  mean  by 
weeping  and  disheartening  me?  I  am  ready  not  only  to 
be  bound  but  also  to  die  at  Jerusalem  for  the  sake  of  the 

14  Lord  Jesus."  As  he  would  not  be  persuaded,  we  ac- 
quiesced, saying,  "The  will  of  the  Lord  be  done." 

15  After  these  days  we  packed  up  and  started  for  Jerusalem, 

16  accompanied  by  some  of  the  disciples  from  Caesarea,  who 
conducted  us  to  the  house  of  Mnason,  a  Cypriote,  with 
whom  we  were  to  lodge.    He  was  a  disciple  of  old  standing. 

17  The  brothers  welcomed  us  gladly  on  our  arrival  at  Jeru- 

18  salem.     Next  day  we  accompanied  Paul  to  James;   all  the 


212  THE  ACTS  XXI 

19  presbyters  were  present,  and  after  saluting  them  Paul 
described  in  detail  what  God  had  done  by  means  of  his 

20  ministry  among  the  Gentiles.  They  glorified  God  when 
they  heard  it.  Then  they  said  to  him,  "Brother,  you  see 
how   many   thousands    of   believers   there    are    among   the 

21  Jews,  all  of  them  ardent  upholders  of  the  law.  Now,  they 
have  heard  that  you  teach  all  Jews  who  live  among  Gen- 
tiles to  break  away  from  Moses  and  not  to  circumcise  their 

22  children,  nor  to  follow  the  old  customs.  What  is  to  be  done? 
They  will  be  sure  to  hear  you  have  arrived.*    So  do  as  we 

^  tell  you.  We  have  four  men  here  under  a  vow;  associate 
yourself  with  them,  purify  yourself  with  them,  pay  their 
expenses  so  that  they  may  be  free  to  have  their  heads 
shaved,  and  then  everybody  will  understand  there  is  noth- 
ing in  these  stories  about  you,  but  that,  on  the  contrary, 

25  you  are  guided  by  obedience  to  the  Law.  As  for  Gentile 
believers,  we  have  issued  our  decision  that  they  must  avoid 
food  that  has  been  offered  to  idols,  the  taste  of  blood,  flesh 
of   animals    that   have   been   strangled,    and    sexual   vice." 

26  Then  Paul  associated  himself  with  the  men  next  day;  he 
had  himself  purified  along  with  them  and  went  into  the 
temple  to  give  notice  of  the  time  when  the  days  of  purifica- 
tion  would  be  completed — the  time,  that  is  to  say,  when  the 
sacrifice  could  be  offered  for  each  one  of  them. 

27  The  seven  days  were  almost  over  when  the  Asiatic  Jews, 
catching  sight  of  him  in  the  temple,  stirred  up  ail  the  crowd 

28  and  laid  hands  on  him,  shouting,  "To  the  rescue,  men  of 
Israel!  Here  is  the  man  who  teaches  everyone  everywhere 
against  the  People  and  the  Law  and  this  Place!  And  he 
has  actually  brought  Greeks  inside  the  temple  and  defiled 

29  this  holy  Place!"  (They  had  previously  seen  Trophimus 
the  Ephesian  along  with  him  in  the  city,   and  they  sup- 

30  posed  Paul  had  taken  him  inside  the  temple.)  The  whole 
city  was  thrown  into  turmoil.  The  people  rushed  together, 
seized  Paul  and  dragged  him  outside  the  temple;    where- 

31  upon  the  doors  were  immediately  shut.  They  were  attempt- 
ing to  kill  him,  when  word  reached  the  commander  of  the 
garrison   that   the   whole   of  Jerusalem  was   in   confusion. 

32  Taking  some  soldiers  and  officers,  he  at  once  rushed  down 
to    them,    and    when    they    saw    the    commander    and    the 

33  soldiers  they  stopped  beating  Paul.  Then  the  commander 
came  up  and  seized  him;  he  ordered  him  to  be  bound  with 
a  couple  of  chains,  and  asked  "Who  is  he?"  and  "What  has 

34  he  done?"  Some  of  the  crowd  roared  one  thing,  some  an- 
other, and  as  he  could  not  learn  the  facts  owing  to  the 

35  uproar,  he  ordered  Paul  to  be  taken  to  the  barracks.     By 

*  Omitting  [Set  ttX^^os  aweKdeiv]  and  [yoLp], 


THE  ACTS  XXII  213 

the  time  he  reached  the  steps,  he  had  actually  to  be  carried 
by  the  soldiers  on  account  of  the  violence  of  the  crowd, 

36  for  the  whole  mass  of  the  people  followed  shouting,  "Away 

37  with  him!"  Just  as  he  was  being  taken  into  the  barracks, 
Paul  said  to  the  commander,  "May  I  say  a  word  to  you?" 

38  "You  know  Greek!"  said  the  commander.  "Then  you  are 
not  the  Egyptian  who  in  days  gone  by  raised  the  four  thou- 

39  sand  assassins  and  led  them  out  into  the  desert?"  Paul 
said,  "I  am  a  Jew,  a  native  of  Tarsus  in  Cilicia,  the  citizen 

40  of  a  famous  town.  Pray  let  me  speak  to  the  people."  As 
he  gave  permission,  Paul  stood  on  the  steps  and  motioned 
to  the  people  A  great  hush  came  over  them,  and  he 
addressed  them  as  follows  in  Hebrew. 


r>o  "Brothers  and  fathers,  listen  to  the  defence  I  now 

2  ^^  make  before  you."  When  they  heard  him  addressing 
them  in  Hebrew  they  were  all  the  more  quiet.    So  he  went 

3  on.  "I  am  a  Jew,  born  at  Tarsus  in  Cilicia,  but  brought  up 
in  this  city,  educated  at  the  feet  of  Gamaliel  in  all  the 
strictness  of  our  ancestral  Law,  ardent  for  God  as  you  all 

4  are  to-day.    I  persecuted  this  Way  of  religion  to  the  death, 

5  chaining  and  imprisoning  both  men  and  women,  as  the 
high  priest  and  all  the  council  of  elders  can  testify.  It 
was  from  them  that  I  got  letters  to  the  brotherhood  at 
Damascus  and  then  journeyed  thither  to  bind  those  who 
had  gathered  there  and  bring  them  back  to  Jerusalem  for 

6  punishment.  Now  as  I  neared  Damascus  on  my  journey, 
suddenly  about  noon  a  brilliant  light  from  heaven  flashed 

7  round  me.    I  dropped  to  the  earth  and  heard  a  voice  saying 

8  to  me,  'Saul,  Saul,  why  do  you  persecute  me?'  'Who  are 
you?'  I  asked.     He  said  to  me,  'I  am  Jesus  the  Nazarene, 

9  and  you  are  persecuting  me.'  (My  companions  saw  the 
light,  but  they  did  not  hear  the  voice  of  him  who  talked 

10  to  me.)  I  said,  'What  am  I  to  do?'  And  the  Lord  said  to 
me,   'Get   up   and   make   your   way   into   Damascus;    there 

11  you  shall  be  told  about  all  you  are  destined  to  do.'  As  I 
could  not  see  owing  to  the  dazzling  glare  of  that  light, 
my  companions  took  my  hand  and  so  I  reached  Damascus. 

12  Then  a  certain  Ananias,  a  devout  man  in  the  Law,  v\^ho  had 

13  a  good  reputation  among  all  the  Jewish  inhabitants,  came 
to  me  and  standing  beside  me  said,  'Saul,  my  brother,  re- 
gain your  sight!'     The  same  moment  I  regained  my  sight 

14  and  looked  up  at  him.  Then  he  said,  'The  God  of  our 
fathers  has  appointed  you  to  know  his  will,  to  see  the  Just 

15  One,  and  to  hear  him  speak  with  his  own  lips.  For  you 
are  to  be  a  witness  for  him  before  all  men,  a  witness  of 

16  Vvhat  you  have  seen  and  heard.    And  now,  why  do  you  wait? 


214  THE  ACTS  XXIII 

Get  up  and  be  baptized  and  wash  away  your  sins,  invoking 
his  name,' 

17  When  I  returned  to  Jerusalem,  it  happened  that  while  I 

18  was  praying  in  the  temple  I  fell  into  a  trance  and  saw 
Him  saying  to  me,  'Make  haste,  leave  Jerusalem  quickly, 

19  for  they  will  not  accept  your  evidence  about  me.'  'But, 
Lord,'  I  said,  'they  surely  know  it  was  I  who  imprisoned 
and  flogged  those  who  believed  in  you  throughout  the  syna- 

20  gogues,  and  that  I  stood  and  approved  when  the  blood  of 
your   martyr   Stephen   was   being   shed,    taking   charge    of 

21  the  clothes  of  his  murderers!'     But  he  said  to  me,  'Go; 

22  I  will  send  you  afar  to  the  Gentiles '  "    Till  he  said  that, 

they  had  listened  to  him.    But  at  that  they  shouted,  "Away 
with  such  a  creature  from  the  earth!     He  is  not  fit  to  live!" 

23  They  yelled  and  threw  their  clothes  into  the  air  and  flung 

24  dust  about,  till  the  commander  ordered  him  to  be  taken 
inside  the  barracks  and  examined  under  the  lash,  so  as  to 
find    out   why    the    people    shouted    at    him    in    this    way. 

25  They  had  strapped  him  up,  when  Paul  said  to  the  officer 
who  was  standing  by,  "Are  you  allowed  to  scourge  a  Roman 

26  citizen — and  to  scourge  him  without  a  trial?"  When  the 
officer  heard  this,  he  went  to  the  commander  and  said  to 
him,  "What  are  you  going  to  do?     This  man  is  a  Roman 

27  citizen."     So  the  commander  went  to  him  and  said,  "Tell 

28  me,  are  you  a  Roman  citizen?"  "Yes,"  he  said.  The 
commander  replied,  "I  had  to  pay  a  large   sum  for  this 

29  citizenship."  "But  I  was  born  a  citizen,"  said  Paul.  Then 
those  who  were  to  have  examined  him  left  him  at  once 
alone;  even  the  commander  was  alarmed  to  find  that  Paul 
was  a  Roman  citizen  and  that  he  had  bound  him. 

30  Next  day,  as  he  was  anxious  to  find  out  the  real  reason 
why  the  Jews  accused  him,  he  unbound  him,  ordered  the 
high  priests  and  all  the  Sanhedrin  to  meet,  and  brought 
O  O  Paul  down,  placing  him  in  front  of  them.  With  a 
^Cj  steady  look  at  the  Sanhedrin  Paul  said,  "Brothers,  I 
have   lived   with   a  perfectly   good   conscience   before    God 

2  down  to  the  present  day."  Then  the  high  priest  Ananias 
ordered  those  who  were  standing  next  Paul  to  strike  him 

3  on  the  mouth.  At  this  Paul  said  to  him,  "You  white- 
washed wall,  God  will  strike  you!  You  sit  there  to  judge 
me  by   the   Law,    do   you?     And   you   break   the   Law   by 

4  ordering  me  to  be  struck!"     The  bystanders  said,  "What! 

5  would  you  rail  at  God's  high  priest?"  "Brothers,"  said 
Paul,  "I  did  not  know  he  was  high  priest"  (for  it  is  writ- 
ten, You  must  not  speak  evil  of  any  ruler  of  your  people). 

6  Then,  finding  half  the  Sanhedrin  were  Sadducees  and  the 
other  half  Pharisees,  Paul  shouted  to  them,  "I  am  a  Phari- 
see, brothers,  the  son  of  Pharisees!     It  is  for  the  hope  of 


THE  ACTS  XXIII  215 

7  the  resurrection  from  the  dead  that  I  am  on  trial!"  When 
he  said  this,  a  quarrel  broke  out  between  the  Pharisees  and 

8  the  Sadducees;  the  meeting  was  divided.  For  while  the 
Sadducees  declare  there  is  no  such  thing  as  resurrection, 

9  angels,  or  spirits,  the  Pharisees  affirm  them  all.  Thus  a 
loud  clamour  brokife  out.  Some  of  the  scribes  who  belonged 
to  the  Pharisaic  party  got  up  and  contended,  "We  find 
nothing  wrong  about  this  man.     What  if  some  spirit  or 

10  angel  has  spoken  to  him?"  The  quarrel  then  became  so 
violent  that  the  commander  was  afraid  they  would  tear 
Paul  in  pieces;  he  therefore  ordered  the  troops  to  march 
down   and   take   him   from   them  by   force,   bringing   him 

11  inside  the  barracks.  On  the  following  night  the  Lord  stood 
by  Paul  and  said,  "Courage!  As  you  have  testified  to  me 
at  Jerusalem,  so  you  must  testify  at  Rome." 

12  When  day  broke,  the  Jews  formed  a  conspiracy,  taking 
a  solemn  oath  neither  to  eat  nor  to  drink  till  they  had 

13  killed  Paul.     There  were  more  than  forty  of  them  in  this 

14  plot.  They  then  went  to  the  high  priests  and  elders,  say- 
ing, "We  have  taken  a  solemn  oath  to  taste  no  food  till  we 

15  have  killed  Paul.  Now  you  and  the  Sanhedrin  must  in- 
form the  commander  that  you  propose  to  investigate  this 
case  in  detail,  so  that  he  may  have  Paul  brought  down  to 
you.     We  will  be  all  ready  to  kill  him  on  the  way  down." 

16  Now  Paul's  nephew  heard  about  their  treacherous  ambush; 

17  so  he  got  admission  to  the  barracks  and  told  Paul.  Paul 
summoned  one  of  the  officers  and  said,  "Take  this  young 
man  to  the  commander,  for  he  has  some  news  to  give  him." 

18  So  the  officer  took  him  to  the  commander,  saying,  "The 
prisoner  Paul  has  summoned  me  to  ask  if  I  would  bring 
this  young  man  to  you,  as  he  has  something  to  tell  you." 

19  The  commander  then  took  him  by  the  hand  aside  and  asked 

20  him  in  private,  "What  is  the  news  you  have  for  me?"  He 
answered,  "The  Jews  have  agreed  to  ask  you  to  bring  Paul 
down  to-morrow  to  the  Sanhedrin,  on  the  plea  that  they* 

21  propose  to  examine  his  case  in  detail.  Now  do  not  let  them 
persuade  you.  More  than  forty  of  them  are  lying  in  am- 
bush for  him,  and  they  have  taken  a  solemn  oath  neither 
to  eat  nor  to  drink  till  they  have  murdered  him.    They  are' 

22  all  ready  at  this  moment,  awaiting  your  consent."  Then 
the   commander   dismissed   the   youth,   bidding   him    "Tell 

23  nobody  that  you  have  informed  me  of  this."  He  summoned 
two  of  the  officers  and  said,  "Get  ready  by  nine  o'clock  to- 
night two  hundred  infantry  to  march  as  far  as  Caesarea, 

24  also  seventy  troopers,  and  two  hundred  spearmen."    Horses 

*  Reading    either  fx^Wovres   with    the    Latin,    Syriac,    Sahidic,    and 
Ethiopic  versions,  or  fieWdpTU);'  (^c^  Chrysostom,  and  some  minuscules). 


216  THE  ACTS  XXIV 

were  also  to  be  provided,  on  which  they  were  to  mount 

25  Paul  and  carry  him  safe  to  Felix  the  governor.     He  then 

26  wrote  a  letter  in  the  following  terms.     "Claudius  Lysias, 

27  to  his  excellency  the  governor  Felix:  greeting.  This  man 
had  been  seized  by  the  Jews  and  was  on  the  point  of  being 
murdered  by  them,  when  I  came  on  them  with  the  troops 
and  rescued  him,  as  I  had  ascertained  that  he  was  a  Roman 

28  citizen.     Anxious  to  find  out  why  they  accused  him,  I  took 

29  him  down  to  their  Sanhedrin,  where  I  found  he  was  accused 
of  matters  relating  to  their  Law  but  not  impeached   for 

30  any  crime  that  deserved  death  or  imprisonment.  I  am 
informed  a  plot  is  to  be  laid  against  him,  so  I  am  sending 
him  to  you  at  once,*  telling  his  accusers  that  they  must 

31  impeach  him  before  you.  Farewell."  The  soldiers,  accord- 
ing to  their  instructions,  took  Paul  and  brought  him  by 

32  night  to   Antipatris.     Next  day  the   infantry  returned   to 

33  their  barracks,  leaving  the  troopers  to  ride  on  with  him. 
They  reached  Caesarea,  presented  the  letter  to  the  governor, 

34  and  also  handed  Paul  over  to  him.  On  reading  the 
letter  he  asked  what  province  he  belonged  to,  and  finding 

35  it  was  Cilicia  he  said,  "I  will  go  into  your  case  whenever 
your  accusers  arrive,"  giving  orders  that  he  was  to  be 
kept  in  the  praetorium  of  Herod. 

o  >!  Five  days  later  down  came  the  high  priest  Ananias 
^^  with  some  elders  and  a  barrister  called  Tertullus. 
They  laid  information  before  the.  governor  against  Paul. 

2  So  Paul  was  summoned,  and  then  Tertullus  proceeded  to 
accuse  him.  "Your  excellency,"  he  said  to  Felix,  "as  it  is 
owing  to  you  that  we  enjoy  unbroken  peace,  and  as  it  is 
owing  to  your  wise  care  that  the  state  of  this  nation  has 

3  been  improved  in  every  way  and  everywhere,  we  acknowl- 

4  edge  all  this  with  profound  gratitude.  I  have  no  wish 
to  weary  you,  but  I  beg  of  you  to  grant  us  in  your  courtesy 

5  a  brief  hearing.  The  fact  is,  we  have  found  this  man  is  a 
perfect  pest;  he  stirs  up  sedition  among  the  Jews  all  over 
the  world  and  he   is  a  ringleader  of  the  Nazarene   sect. 

6  He  actually  tried  to  desecrate  the  temple,  but  we  got  hold 
•  8  of  him.     Examine  him  for  yourself  and  you  will  be  able 

to  find  out  about  all  these  charges  of  ours  against  him." 
9  The  Jews  joined  in  the  attack,  declaring  that  such  were 

10  the  facts  of  the  case.  Then  at  a  nod  from  the  governor 
Paul  made  his  reply.  "As  I  know  you  have  administered 
justice  in  this  nation  for  a  number  of  years,"  he  said,  "I 

11  feel  encouraged  to  make  my  defence,  because  it  is  not  more 
than  twelve  days,  as  you  can  easily  ascertain,  since  I  went 

*  Reading  i^avTris  instead  of  ^^  avrCbv. 


THE  ACTS  XXV  217 

12  up  to  worship  at  Jerusalem.  They  never  found  me  arguing 
with  anyone  in  the  temple  or  causing  a  riot  either  in  the 

13  synagogues  or  in  the  city;    they  cannot  furnish  you  with 

14  any  proof  of  their  present  charges  against  me.  I  certainly 
admit  to  you  that  I  worship  our  fathers'  God  according  to 
the  methods  of  what  they  call  a  'sect';   but  I  believe  all 

15  that  is  written  in  the  Law  and  in  the  prophets,  and  I 
cherish  the  same  hope  in  God  as  they  accept,  namely  that 
there  is  to  be  a  resurrection  of  the  just  and  the  unjust. 

16  Hence  I  too  endeavour  to  have  a  clear  conscience  before 

17  God  and  men  all  the  time.     After  a  lapse  of  several  years 

18  I  came  up  with  alms  and  offerings  for  my  nation,*  and  it 
was  in  presenting  these  that  I  was  found  within  the  temple. 
I  was  ceremonially  pure,  I  was  not  mixed  up  in  any  mob 
or  riot;    no,  the  trouble  was  caused  by  some  Jews  from 

19  Asia,  who  ought  to  have  been  here  before  you  with  any 

20  charge  they  may  have  against  me.  Failing  them,  let  these 
men  yonder  tell  what  fault  they  found  with  my  appear- 

21  ance  before  the  Sanhedrin! — unless  it  was  with  the  single 
sentence  I  uttered,  when  I  stood  and  said,  'It  is  for  the 
resurrection  of   the    dead  that   I   am   on  my  trial   to-day 

22  before  you.'  "  As  Felix  had  a  pretty  accurate  knowledge 
of  the  Way,  he  remanded  Paul,  telling  the  Jews,  "When 
Lysias    the    commander    comes    down,    I    will    decide   your 

23  case."  He  gave  orders  to  the  officer  to  have  Paul  kept  in 
custody  but  to  allow  him  some  freedom  and  not  to  prevent 
any  of  his  own  people  from  rendering  him  any  service. 

24  Some  days  later  Felix  arrived  with  his  wife  Drusilla, 
who  was  a  Jewess.     He  sent  for  Paul  and  heard  what  he 

25  had  to  say  about  faith  in  Christ  Jesus;  but  when  he  argued 
about  morality,  self-mastery,  and  the  future  judgment, 
Felix  grew  uneasy.  "You  may  go  for  the  present,"  he 
said;    "when  I  can  find  a  moment,  I  will  send  for  you" 

26  (though  at  the  same  time  he  hoped  Paul  would  give  him 
a    bribe).      So    he    did    send    for    him    pretty    frequently 

27  and  conversed  with  him.  But  when  two  years  had 
elapsed,  Felix  was  succeeded  by  Porcius  Festus,  and  as 
Felix  wanted  to  ingratiate  himself  with  the  Jews,  he 
left  Paul  still  in  custody. 


O  /!r  Three  days  after  Festus  entered  his  province,  he  went 

2  ^tJ  up  from  Caesarea  to  Jerusalem.    The  high  priests  and 

the   Jewish   leaders   laid   information  before   him   against 

*  It  is  hardly  possible  to  make  sense  of  the  following  Greek  text,  and 
none  of  the  various  readings  or  of  the  emendations  that  have  been 
proposed  is  entirely  satisfactory.  All  one  can  do  is  to  reproduce  the 
general  drift  of  the  passage. 


218  THE  ACTS  XXV 

3  Paul,  and  begged  him,  as  a  special  favour,  to  send  for  him 
to    Jerusalem,    meaning   to   lay   an   ambush   for   him    and 

4  murder  him  on  the  road.  Festus  replied  that  Paul  would 
be  kept  in  custody  at  Caesarea,  but  that  he  himself  meant 

5  to  leave  for  Caesarea  before  long — "when,"  he  added,  "your 
competent  authorities  can  come  down  with  me  and  charge 

6  the  man  with  whatever  crime  he  has  committed."  After 
staying  not  more  than  eight  or  ten  days  with  them,  he 
went  down  to  Caesarea.     Next  day  he  took  his  seat  on  the 

7  tribunal  and  ordered  Paul  to  be  brought  before  him.  When 
he  arrived,  the  Jews  who  had  come  down  from  Jerusalem 
surrounded  him  and  brought  a  number  of  serious  charges 

8  against  him,  none  of  which  they  were  able  to  prove.  Paul's 
defence  was,  "I  have  committed  no  offence  against  the  Law 

9  of  the  Jews,  against  the  temple,  or  against  Caesar."  As 
Festus  wanted  to  ingratiate  himself  with  the  Jews,  he 
asked  Paul,   "Will  you  go  up  to  Jerusalem  and  be  tried 

10  there  by  me  upon  these  charges?"  Paul  said,  "I  am 
standing  before  Caesar's  tribunal;  that  is  where  I  ought  to 
be  tried.     I  have  done  no  wrong  whatever  to  the  Jews — 

11  you  know  that  perfectly  well.  If  I  am  a  criminal,  if  I  have 
done  anything  that  deserves  death,  I  do  not  object  to  die; 
but  if  there  is  nothing  in  any  of  their  charges  against  me, 
then  no  one  can  give  me  up  to  them.     I  appeal  to  Caesar!" 

12  Then,  after  conferring  with  the  council,  Festus  answered, 
"You  have  appealed  to  Caesar?  Very  well,  you  must  go  to 
Caesar!" 

13  Some  days  had  passed,  when  king  Agrippa  and  Bernice 

14  came  to  Caesarea  to  pay  their  respects  to  Festus.  As  they 
were  spending  several  days  there,  Festus  laid  Paul's  case 
before  the  king.     "There   is  a  man,"  he  said,   "who  was 

15  left  in  prison  by  Felix.  When  I  was  at  Jerusalem,  the 
high  priests  and  elders  of  the  Jews  informed  me  about 

16  him  and  demanded  his  condemnation.  I  told  them  Romans 
were  not  in  the  habit  of  giving  up  any  man  until  the 
accused  met  the  accusers  face  to  face  and  had  a  chance  of 

17  defending  himself  against  the  impeachment.  Well,  the  day 
after  they  came  here  along  with  me,  I  took  my  seat  on  the 
tribunal  without  any  loss  of  time.     I  ordered  the  man  to 

18  be  brought  in,  but  when  his  accusers  stood  up  they  did 
not  charge  him  with  any  of  the  crimes  that  I  had  expected. 

19  The  questions  at  issue  referred  to  their  own  religion  and  to 

20  a  certain  Jesus  who  had  died.  Paul  said  he  was  alive.  As 
I  felt  at  a  loss  about  the  method  of  inquiry  into  such  topics, 
I  asked  if  he  would  go  to  Jerusalem  and  be  tried  there  on 

21  these  charges.  But  Paul  entered  an  appeal  for  his  case 
to  be  reserved  for  the  decision  of  the  emperor;  so  I  ordered 
him    to   be    detained    till    I    could   remit   him    to    Caesar." 


THE  ACTS  XXVI  219 

22  "I  should  like  to  hear  the  man  myself,"  said  Agrippa  to 
Festus.     "You  shall  hear  him  to-morrow,"  said  Festus. 

23  So  next  day  Agrippa  and  Bernice  proceeded  with  great 
pomp  to  the  hall  of  audience,  accompanied  by  the  military 
commanders    and    the    prominent    civilians    of    the    town. 

24  Festus  then  ordered  Paul  to  be  brought  in.  "King  Agrippa 
and  all  here  present,"  said  Festus,  "you  see  before  you  a 
man  of  whom  the  entire  body  of  the  Jews  at  Jerusalem 
and  also  here  have  complained  to  me.     They  loudly  insist 

25  he  ought  not  to  live  any  longer.  I  could  not  find  he  had 
done  anything  that  deserved  death,  so  I  decided  to  send 

26  him,  on  his  own  appeal,  to  the  emperor.  Only,  I  have 
nothing  definite  to  write  to  the  sovereign  about  him.  So  I 
have  brought  him  up  before  you  all,  and  especially  before 
you,  O  king  Agrippa,  in  order  that  I  may  have  something 

27  to  write  as  the  result  of  your  cross-examination.  For  it 
seems  absurd  to  me  to  forward  a  prisoner  without  notify- 
i}f\  ing  the  particulars  of  his  charge."  Then  Agrippa 
^\J  said  to  Paul,  "You  have  our  permission  to  speak  upon 
your  own  behalf."     At  this  Paul  stretched  out  his  hand 

2  and  began  his  defence.  "I  consider  myself  fortunate,  king 
Agrippa,  in  being  able  to  defend  myself  to-day  before  you 

3  against  all  that  the  Jews  charge  me  with;  for  you  are  well 
acquainted  with  all  Jewish  customs  and  questions.     Pray 

4  listen  to  me  then  with  patience.  How  I  lived  from  my 
youth  up  among  my  own  nation  and  at  Jerusalem,  all  that 

5  early  career  of  mine,  is  known  to  all  the  Jews.  They  know 
me  of  old.  They  know,  if  they  chose  to  admit  it,  that  as  a 
Pharisee  I  lived  by  the  principles  of  the  strictest  party  in 

6  our  religion.     To-day  I  am  standing  my  trial  for  hoping 

7  in  the  promise  made  by  God  to  our  fathers,  a  promise 
which  our  twelve  tribes  hope  to  gain  by  serving  God  ear- 
nestly both  night  and  day.  And  I  am  actually  impeached  by 

9  Jews  for  this  hope,  O  king!    I  once  believed  it  my  duty  in- 

10  deed  actively  to  oppose  the  name  of  Jesus  the  Nazarene.  I 
did  so  in  Jerusalem.  I  shut  up  many  of  the  saints  in  prison, 
armed  with  authority  from  the  high  priests;   when  they 

11  were  put  to  death,  I  voted  against  them;  there  was  not  a 
synagogue  where  I  did  not  often  punish  them  and  force 
them  to  blaspheme;   and  in  my  frantic  fury  I  persecuted 

12  them  even  to  foreign  towns.  I  was  travelling  to  Damascus 
on  this  business,  with  authority  and  a  commission  from 

13  the  high  priests,  when  at  mid-day  on  the  road,  O  king, 
I  saw  a  light  from  heaven,  more  dazzling  than  the  sun, 

14  flash  round  me  and  my  fellow-travellers.  We  all  fell  to  the 
ground,  and  I  heard  a  voice  saying  to  me  in  Hebrew,  'Saul, 
Saul,  why   dp  you  persecute  me?     You  hurt  yourself  by 

15  kicking  at  the  goad.'     'Who  are  you?'     I  asked.     And  the 


220  THE  ACTS  XXVII 

16  Lord  said,  'I  am  Jesus,  and  you  are  persecuting  me.  Now 
get  up  and  stand  on  your  feet,  for  I  have  appeared  to  you 
in  order  to  appoint  you  to  my  service  as  a  witness  to  what 
you  have  seen  and  to  the  visions  you  shall  have  of  me. 

17  I   ivill    rescue   you  from    the    People    and    also    -frovi    the 

18  Gentiles — to  wliom  I  send  you,  that  their  eyes  may  he 
opened  and  that  they  may  turn  from  darkness  to  light, 
from  the  power  of  Satan  to  God,  to  get  remission  of  their 
sins  and  an  inheritance  among  those  who  are  consecrated 

19  by  faith  in  me.'    Upon  this,  O  king  Agrippa,  I  did  not  dis- 

20  obey  the  heavenly  vision;  I  announced  to  those  at  Damas- 
cus and  at  Jerusalem  in  the  first  instance,  then  all  over  the 
land  of  Judaea,  and  also  to  the  Gentiles,  that  they  were 
to  repent  and  turn  to  God  by  acting  up  to  their  repentance. 

21  This  is  why  the  Jews  seized  me  in  the  temple  and  tried  to 

22  assassinate  me.  To  this  day  I  have  had  the  help  of  God 
in  standing,  as  I  now  do,  to  testify  alike  to  low  and  high, 
never  uttering  a  single  syllable  beyond  what  the  prophets 

8  and  Moses  predicted  was  to  take  place.     Why  should  you 

23  consider  it  incredible  that  God  raises  the  dead,*  that  the 
Christ  is  capable  of  suffering,  and  that  he  should  be  the 
first  to  rise  from  the  dead  and  bring  the  message  of  light 

24  to  the  People  and  to  the  Gentiles?"  When  he  brought  this 
forward  in  his  defence,  Festus  called  out,  "Paul,  you  are 
quite  mad!      Your  great  learning  is  driving  you  insane." 

25  "Your  excellency,"  said  Paul  to  Festus,  "I  am  not  mad,  I 

26  am  speaking  the  sober  truth.  Why,  the  king  is  well  aware 
of  this!  To  the  king  I  can  speak  without  the  slightest 
hesitation.     I   do   not  believe   any  of   it  has   escaped  his 

27  notice,  for  this  was  not  done  in  a  corner.  King  Agrippa,  you 

28  believe  the  prophets?  I  know  you  do."  "At  this  rate," 
Agrippa  remarked,  "it  won't  be  long  before  you  believe  you 

29  have  made  a  Christian  of  me!"  "Long  or  short,"  said 
Paul,  "I  would  to  God  that  not  only  you  but  all  my  hearers 

30  to-day  could  be  what  I  am — barring  these  chains!  Then  the 
king  rose,  with  the  governor  and  Bernice  and  those  who  had 

31  been  seated  beside  them.  They  retired  to  discuss  the  affair, 
and  agreed  that  "this  man  has  done  nothing  to   deserve 

32  death  or  imprisonment."  "He  might  have  been  released," 
said  Agrippa  to  Festus,  "if  he  had  not  appealed  to  Caesar." 

iyfj  When  it  was  decided  we  were  to  sail  for  Italy,  Paul 
^  I  and  some  other  prisoners  were  handed  over  to  an 
2  officer  of  the  Imperial  regiment  called  Julius.  Embarking 
in  an  Andramyttian  ship  which  was  bound  for  the  Asiatic 
seaports,  we  set  sail,  accompanied  by  a  Macedonian  from 

*  Restoring  ver.  8  to  its  original  position  at  the  beginning  of  ver.  23. 


THE  ACTS  XXVII  221 

3  Thessalonica  called'  Aristarchus.  Next  day  we  put  in  at 
Sidon,  where  Julius  very  kindly  allowed  Paul  to  visit  his 

4  friends  and  be  looked  after.  Putting  to  sea  from  there, 
we  had  to  sail  under  the  lee  of  Cyprus,  as  the  wind  was 

5  against  us;  then,  sailing  over  the  Cilician  and  Pamphylian 

6  waters,  we  came  to  Myra  in  Lycia.  There  the  officer  found 
an  Alexandrian  ship  bound  for  Italy,  and  put  us  on  board 

7  of  her.  For  a  number  of  days  we  made  a  slow  passage 
and  had  great  difficulty,  in  arriving  off  Cnidus;  then,  as  the 
wind   checked   our  progress,   we   sailed   under   the   lee   of 

8  Crete  off  Cape  Salmone,  and  coasting  along  it  with  great 
difficulty  we  reached  a  place  called  Fair  Havens,  not  far 

9  from  the  town  of  Lasea.  "  By  this  time  it  was  far  on  in 
the   season   and   sailing  had   become    dangerous    (for   the 

10  autumn  Fast  was  past),  so  Paul  warned  them  thus:  "Men," 
said  he,  "I  see  this  voyage  is  going  to  be  attended  with 
hardship  and  serious  loss  not  only  to  the  cargo  and  the 

11  ship  but  also  to  our  own  lives."  However  the"  officer  let 
himself  be  persuaded  by  the  captain  and  the  owner  rather 

12  than  by  anything  Paul  could  say,  and,  as  the  harbour  was 
badly  placed  for  wintering  in,  the  majority  proposed  to. 
set  sail  and  try  if  they  could  reach  Phoenix  and  winter 
there  (Phoenix  is  a  Cretan  harbour  facing  S.W.  and  N.W.). 

13  When  a  moderate  southerly  breeze  sprang  up,  they  thought 
they  had  secured  their  object,  and  after  weighing  anchor 
they    sailed    along    the    coast    of    Crete,    close    inshore. 

14  Presently  down  rushed  a  hurricane  of  a  wind  called  Euro- 

15  clydon;  the  ship  was  caught  and  unable  to  face  the  wind, 

16  so  we  gave  up  and  let  her  drive  along.  Running  under 
the  lee  of  a  small  island  called  Clauda,  we  managed  with 

17  great  difficulty  to  get  the  boat  hauled  in;  once  it  was 
hoisted  aboard,  they  used  ropes*  to  undergird  the  ship,  and 
in   fear    of    being    stranded    on    the    Syrtis    they    lowered 

18  the  sail  and  lay  to.    As  we  were  being  terribly  battered'  by 

19  the  storm,  they  had  to  jettison  the  cargo  next  day,  while 
two  days  later  they  threw  the  ship's  gear  overboard  with 

20  their  own  hands;  for  many  days  neither  sun  nor  stars 
could  be   seen,  the  storm   raged  heavily,   and  at  last  we 

21  had  to  give  up  all  hope  of  being  saved.  When  they  had 
gone  without  food  for  a  long  time,  Paul  stood  up  among 
them  and  said,  "Men,  you  should  have  listened  to  me  and 
spared  yourselves  this  hardship  and  loss  by  refusing  to  set 

22  sail  from  Crete.     I  now  bid  you  cheer  up.     There  will  be 

23  no  loss  of  life,  only  of  the  ship.    For  last  night  an  angel  of 

24  the  God  I  belong  to  and  serve,  stood  before  me,  saying, 
'Have  no  fear,  Paul;  you  must  stand  before  Caesar.     And 

*  Naber's  conjecturp.  ^oelais  for  the  (SorjOdats  of  the  MSS.  yields  this 
excellent  sense. 


222  THE  ACTS  XXVIII 

God  has  granted  you  the  lives  of  all  your  fellow-voyagers.' 

25  Cheer  up,  men!     I  believe  God,  I  believe  it  will  turn  out 

26  just  as  I  have  been  told.  However,  we  are  to  be  stranded 
on  an  island." 

27  When  the  fourteenth  night  arrived,  we  were  drifting 
about  in  the  sea  of  Adria,  when  the  sailors  about  midnight 

28  suspected  land  was  near.  On  taking  soundings  they  found 
twenty  fathoms,  and  a  little  further  on,  when  they  sounded 

29  again,  they  found  fifteen.  Then^  afraid  of  being  stranded 
on  the  rocks,  they  let  go  four  anchors  from  the  stern  and 

30  longed  for  daylight.  The  sailors  tried  to  escape  from  the 
ship.  They  had  even  lowered  the  boat  into  the  sea,  pre- 
tending they  were  going  to  lay  out  anchors  from  the  bow, 

31  when  Paul  said  to  the  officer  and  the  soldiers,  "You  cannot 

32  be  saved  unless  these  men  stay  by  the  ship."  Then  the 
soldiers  cut  away  the  ropes  of  the  boat  and  let  her  fall 

33  off.  Just  before  daybreak  Paul  begged  them  all  to  take 
some  food.     "For  fourteen  days,"  he  said,  "you  have  been 

34  on  the  watch  all  the  time,  without  a  proper  meal.  Take 
some  food  then,  I  beg  of  you;  it  will  keep  you  alive.  You 
are  going  to  be   saved!      Not  a  hair  of  your  heads   will 

S5  perish."  With  t"hese  words  he  took  a  loaf  and  after  thank- 
ing God,  in  presence  of  them  all,  broke  it  and  began  to  eat. 

36  Then  they   all   cheered  up   and  took  food  for  themselves 

37  (there  were  about*  seventy-six  souls  of  us  on  board,  all 

38  told) ;  and  when  they  had  eaten  their  fill,  they  lightened 

39  the  ship  by  throwing  the  wheat  into  the  sea.  When  day 
broke,  they  could  not  recognize  what  land  it  was;  however, 
they  noticed  a  creek  with  a  sandy  beach,  and  resolved  to 

40  see  if  they  could  run  the  ship  ashore  there.  So  the  anchors 
were  cut  away  and  left  in  the  sea,  while  the  crew  unlashed 
the   ropes   that   tied   the   rudders,   hoisted  the  foresail   to 

41  the  breeze,  and  headed  for  the  beach.  Striking  a  reef, 
they  drove  the  ship  aground;  the  prow  jammed  fast,  but 
the  stern  began  to  break  up  under  the  beating  of  the  waves. 

42  Now  the   soldiers  resolved  to  kill   the  prisoners,  in  case 

43  any  of  them  swam  off  and  escaped;  but  as  the  officer 
wanted  to  save  Paul,  he  put  a  stop  to  their  plan,  ordering 
those  who  could  swim  to  jump  overboard  first  and  get  to 

44  land,  while  the  rest  were  to  manage  with  planks  or  pieces 
of  wreckage.  In  this  way  it  turned  out  that  the  whole 
company  got  safe  to  land. 

OQ  It  was  only  after  our  escape  that  we  found  out  the 
2  ^^  island  was  called  Malta.     The  natives  showed  us  un- 
common kindness,  for  they  lit  a  fire  and  welcomed  us  all 

*  Reading  ws  (B  and  Sahidic  version)  for  diaKdaiai.. 


THE  ACTS  XXVIII  223 

3  to  it,  as  the  rain  had  come  on  and  it  was  chilly.  Now 
Paul  had  gathered  a  bundle  of  sticks  and  laid  them  on  the 
tire,  when  a  viper  crawled  out  with  the  heat  and  fastened 

4  on  his  hand.  When  the  natives  saw  the  creatvire  hanging 
from  his  hand,  they  said  to  each  other,  "This  man  must 
be  a  murderer!     He  has  escaped  the  sea,  but  Justice  will 

5  not  let  him  live."    However,  he  shook  off  the  creature  into 

6  the  fire  and  was  not  a  whit  the  worse.  The  natives  waited 
for  him  to  swell  up  or  drop  down  dead  in  a  moment,  but 
after  waiting  a  long  while  and  observing  that  no  harm  had 
befallen  him,  they  changed  their  minds  and  declared  he 
was  a  god. 

7  There  was  an  estate  in  the  neighbourhood  which 
belonged  to  a  man  called  Publius,  the  governor  of  the 
island;  he  welcomed  us  and  entertained  us  hospitably  for 

8  three  days.  His  father,  it  so  happened,  was  laid  up  with 
fever  and  dysentery,  but  Paul  went  in  to  see  him  -and  after 

9  prayer  laid  his  hands  on  him  and  cured  him.  When  this 
had  happened,  the  rest  of  the  sick  folk  in  the  island  also 

10  came  and  got  cured;  they  made  us  rich  presents  and  fur- 
nished us,  when  we  set  sail,  with  all  we  needed. 

11  We  set  sail,  after  three  months,  in  an  Alexandrian  ship, 
with  the  Dioscuri  on  her  figure-head,  which  had  wintered  at 

12  the  island.     We  put  in  at  Syracuse  and  stayed  for  three 

13  days.  Then  tacking  round  we  reached  Rhegium;  next  day 
a  south  wind   sprang  up  which  brought  us   in  a   day  to 

14  Puteoli,  where  we  came  across  some  of  the  brotherhood, 
who  invited  us  to  stay  a  week  with  them. 

15  In  this  way  we  reached  Rome.  As  the  local  brothers  had 
heard  about  us,  they  came  out  to  meet  us  as  far  as  Appii 
Forum  and  Tres  Tabernae,  and  when  Paul  saw  them  he 

16  thanked  God  and  took  courage.  When  we  did  reach  Rome, 
Paul  got  permission*  to  live  by  himself,  with  a  soldier  to 

17  guard  him.  Three  days  later,  he  called  the  leading  Jews 
together,  and  when  they  met  he  said  to  them,  "Brothers, 
although  I  have  done  nothing  against  the  People  or  our 
ancestral  customs,   I  was  handed  over  to  the  Romans  as 

18  a  prisoner  from  Jerusalem.  They  meant  to  release  me 
after  examination,   as   I  was  innocent  of  any  crime  that 

19  deserved  death.  But  the  Jews  objected,  and  so  I  was 
obliged  to  appeal  to  Caesar — not  that  I  had  any  charge  to 

20  bring  against  my  own  nation.  This  is  my  reason  for  asking 
to  see  you  and  have  a  word  with  you.     I  am  wearing  this 

21  chain  because  I  share  Israel's  hope."  They  replied,  "We 
have  had  no  letters  about  you  from  Judaea,  and  no  brother 

*  Omitting  [6  eKarbvrapxo^  irap^duKCv  tous  de<Tfj.iovs  t^   crTparoireddpxv] 
and  [5^]. 


224  THE  ACTS  XXVIII 

has  conifi  here  with  any  bad  report  or  story  about  you. 

22  We  think  it  only  right  to  let  you  tell  your  own  story;  but 
as   regards  this   sect,   we  are  well   aware   that  there   are 

23  objections  to  it  on  all  hands."  So  they  fixed  a  day  and 
came  to  him  at  his  quarters  in  large  numbers.  From  morn- 
ing to  evening  he  explained  the  Reign  of  God  to  them  from 
personal  testimony,  and  tried  to  convince  them  ^bout  Jesus 

24  from  the  law  of  Moses  and  the  prophets.  Some  were  con- 
vinced by  what  he  said,  but  the  others  would  not  believe. 

25  As  they  could  not  agree  among  themselves,  they  were  turn- 
ing to  go  away,  when  Paul  added  this  one  word:  "It  was 
an   apt  word  that  the  holy   Spirit   spoke  by  the  prophet 

26  Isaiah  to  your  fathers,  when  he  said, 

Go  and  tell  this  people, 
'You  will  hear  and  hear  hut  never  understand, 
you  ivill  see  and  see  but  never  perceive,' 

27  For  the  heart  of  this  people  is  obtuse, 

their  ears  are  heavy  of  hearing, 

their  eyes  they  have  closed, 
lest  they  see  with  their  eyes  and  hear  with  their  ears, 
lest  they  understand  with  their  heart  and  turn  again, 
and  I  cure  them. 

28  Be  sure  of  this,  then,  that  this  salvation  of  God  has  been 

30  sent  to  the  Gentiles;  they  will  listen  to  it."  For  two  full 
years  he  remained  in  his  private  lodging,  welcoming  any- 

31  one  who  came  to  visit  him;  he  preached  the  Reign  of  God 
and  taught  about  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  quite  openly  and 
unmolested. 


THE  EPISTLE   OF  PAUL  THE   APOSTLE   TO  THE 

ROMANS 

IPaul,  a  servant  of  Jesus  Christ,  called  to  be  an  apostle, 
set  apart  for  the  gospel  of  God   (which  he  promised  of 

3  old  by  his  prophets  in  the  holy  scriptures)  concerning 
his    Son,    who   was   born   of    David's    offspring   by   natural 

4  descent  and  installed  as  Son  of  God  with  power  by  the 
Spirit  of  holiness  when  he  was  raised  from  the  dead — con- 

5  cerning  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord,  through  whom  t  have  re- 
ceived the  favour  of  my  commission  to  promote  obedience 

6  to  the  faith  for  his  sake  among  all  the  Gentiles,  including 

7  yourselves  who  are  called  to  belong  to  Jesus  Christ:  to  all 
in  Rome  who  are  beloved  by  God,  called  to  be  saints,  grace 
and  peace  to  you  from  God  our  Father  and  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ. 

8  First  of  all,  I  thank  my  God  through  Jesus  Christ  for 
you  all,  because  the  report  of  your  faith  is  over  all  the 

9  world,     God   is   my  witness,   the   God   whom   I   serve  with 

10  my  spirit  in  the  gospel  of  his  Son,  how  unceasingly  I 
always  mention  you  in  my  prayers,  asking  if  I  may  at  last 

11  be  sped  upon  my  way  to  you  by  God's  will.  For  I  do  yearn, 
to  see  you,  that  I  may  impart  to  you  some  spiritual  gift 

12  for  your  strengthening — or,  in  other  words,  that  I  may  be 
encouraged  by  meeting  you,  I  by  your  faith  and  you  by 

13  mine.  Brothers,  I  would  like  you  to  understand  that  I 
have  often  purposed  to  come  to  you  (though  up  till  now  I 
have  been  prevented)    so  as  to  have   some  results   among 

14  you  as  well  as  among  the  rest  of  the  Gentiles.  To  Greeks 
and  to  barbarians,  to  wise  and  to  foolish  alike,  I  owe  a  duty. 

15  Hence  my  eagerness  to  preach  the  gospel  to  j'ou  in  Rome 

16  as  well.  For  I  am  proud  of  the  gospel;  it  is  God's  saving 
power  for  everyone  who  has  faith,  for  the  Jew  first  and  for 

17  the  Greek  as  well.  God's  righteousness  is  revealed  in  it  by 
faith  and  for  faith — as  it  is  written,  Noiv  by  faith  shall  the 

IS  righteous  live.  But  God's  anger  is  revealed  from  heaven 
against  all  the  impiety  and  wickedness  of  those  who  hinder 

19  the  Truth  by  their  wickedness.  For  whatever  is  to  be 
known  of  God  is  plain  to  them;   God  himself  has  made  it 

20  plain — for  ever  since  the  world  was  created,  his  invisible 
nature,  his  everlasting  power  and  divine  being,  have  been 

225 


226  ROMANS  II 

quite  perceptible  in  what  he  has  made.     So  they  have  no 

21  excuse.  Though  they  knew  God,  they  have  not  glorified 
him  as  God  nor  given  thanks  to  him;  they  have  turned 
to  futile  speculations  till  their  ignorant  minds  grew  dark. 

22  They   claimed   to   be   wise,   but   they   have   become   fools; 

23  they  have  exchanged  the  glory  of  the  immortal  God  for  the 
semblance    of   the    likeness    of    mortal    man,    of   birds,    of 

24  quadrupeds,  and  of  reptiles.  So  God  has  given  them  up, 
in  their  heart's  lust,  to  sexual  vice,  to  the  dishonouring  of 

25  their  own  bodies, — since  they  have  exchanged  the  truth 
of  God  for  an  untruth,  worshipping  and  serving  the  crea- 
ture rather  than  the  Creator  who  is  blessed  for  ever:  Amen. 

26  That  is  why  God  has  given  them  up  to  vile  passions;  their 
women   have   exchanged   the   natural   function   of   sex   for 

27  what  is  unnatural,  and  in  the  same  way  the  males  have 
abandoned  the  natural  use  of  women  and  flamed  out  in  lust 
for  one  another,  men  perpetrating  shameless  acts  with  their 
own  sex  and  getting  in  their  own  persons  the  due  recom- 

28  pense  of  their  perversity.  Yes,  as  they  disdained  to 
acknowledge  God  any  longer,  God  has  given  them  up  to  a 
reprobate    instinct    for    the    perpetration    of    what    is    im- 

29  proper,  till  they  are  filled  with  all  manner  of  wickedness, 
depravity,   lust,   and   viciousness,   filled   to   the   brim   with 

30  envy,  murder,  quarrels,  intrigues,  and  malignity — slanderers, 
defamers,  loathed  by  God,  outrageous,  haughty,  boastful, 
inventive   in   evil,   disobedient   to   parents,   devoid   of   con- 

gl  science,  false  to  their  word,  callous,  merciless;  though  they 
know  God's  decree  that  people  who  practise  such  vice 
deserve  death,  they  not  only  do  it  themselves  but  applaud 
those  who  practise  it. 

2  Therefore   you   are    inexcusable,   whoever   you   are,   if 
you  pose  as  a  judge,  for  in  judging  another  you  con- 
demn yourself;    you,  the  judge,  do  the  very  same  things 

2  yourself.     *We   know  the   doom   of  God  falls   justly   upon 

3  those  who  practise  such  vices.'  Very  well;  and  do  you 
imagine  you  will  escape  God's  doom,  O  man,  you  who  judge 
those  who  practise  such  vices  and  do  the  same  yourself? 

4  Or  are  you  slighting  all  his  wealth  of  kindness,  forbear- 
ance,  and   patience?     Do   you   not   know   his   kindness    is 

5  meant  to  make  you  repent?  In  your  stubbornness  and 
impenitence  of  heart  you  are  simply  storing  up  anger  for 
yourself  on  the  Day  of  anger,  when  the  just  doom  of  God 

6  is  revealed.     For  he  tvill  render  to  everyone  according  to 

7  what  he  has  done,  eternal  life  to  those  who  by  patiently 

8  doing  good  aim  at  glory,  honour,  and  immortality,  but  anger 
and  wrath  to  those  who  are  wilful,  who  disobey  the  Truth 

9  and    obey    wickedness — anguish    and    calamity    for    every 


ROMANS  II  227 

human  soul  that  perpetrates  evil,  for  the  Jew  first  and  for 

10  the  Greek  as  well,  but  glory,  honour,  and  peace  for  every- 
one who  does  good,  for  the  Jew  first  and  for  the  Greek  as 

11  well.     There  is  no  partiality  about  God. 

12  All  who  sin  outside  the  Law  will  perish  outside  the  Law, 
and  all  who  sin  under  the  Law  will  be  condemned  by 

the  Law. 

13  For  it  is  not  the  hearers  of  the  Law  who  are  just  in  the 
eyes  of  God,  it  is  those  who  obey  the  Law  who  will  be 

16  acquitted,  on  the  day  when  God  judges  the  secret  things  of 

14  men,  as  my  gospel  holds,  by  Jesus  Christ.  (When  Gen- 
tiles who  have  no  law  obey  instinctively  the  Law's  require- 
ments, they  are  a  law  to  themselves,  even  though  they  have 

15  no  law;  they  exhibit  the  effect  of  the  Law  written  on  their 
hearts,  their  conscience  bears  them  witness,  as  their  moral 
convictions  accuse  or  it  may  be  defend  them.)* 

17  If  you  bear  the  name  of  'Jew,'  relying  on  the  Law,  prid- 

18  ing  yourself  on  God,  understanding  his  will,  and  with  a 
sense  of  what  is  vital  in  religion;  if  you  are  instructed  by 

19  the  Law  and  are  persuaded  you  are  a  guide  to  the  blind,  a 

20  light  to  darkened  souls,  a  tutor  for  the  foolish,  a  teacher 
of  the  simple,  because  in  the  Law  you  have  the  embodi- 

21  ment  of  knowledge  and  truth — well  then,  do  you  ever 
teach  yourself,  you  teacher  of  other  people?     You  preach 

22  against  stealing;  do  you  steal?  You  forbid  adultery;  do 
you    commit    adultery?      You    detest    idols;     do    you    rob 

23  temples?    You    pride    yourself    on    the    Law;    do    you    dis- 

24  honour  God  by  your  breaches  of  the  Law?  Why,  it  is 
owing  to  you  that  the  name  of  God  is  maligned  among  the 

25  Gentiles,  as  scripture  says!  Circumcision  is  certainly  of 
use,  provided  you  keep  the  Law;  but  if  you  are  a  breaker 
of  the  Law,  then  your  circumcision  is  turned  into  uncir- 

26  cumcision.  (If  then  the  uncircumcised  observe  the  require- 
ments   of    the    Law,    shall    not    their    uncircumcision    be 

27  reckoned  equivalent  to  circumcision?  And  shall  not  those 
who  are  physically  uncircumcised  and  who  fulfil  the  Law, 
judge  you  who  are  a  breaker  of  the  Law  for  all  your 
written  code  and  circumcision?) 

28  He  is  no  Jew  who  is  merely  a  Jew  outwardly, 

nor  is  circumcision  something  outward  in  the  flesh; 

29  he  is  a  Jew  who  is  one  inwardly, 

and  circumcision  is  a 

matter  of  the  heart,  spiritual  not  literal — 
praised  by  God,  not  by  man. 

*  Ver.  16  is  the.  sequel  to  the  first  clause  of  ver.  14.  The  rest  of  ver. 
14  and  the  whole  of  ver.  15  form  a  short  paragraph  which  is  either  a 
marginal  note  or  an  awkward  insertion.  T(!>  preserve  the  sequence  of 
thought  I  have  re-arranged  the  verses  as  above. 


228  ROMANS  III 

3  Then  what  is  the  Jew's  superiority?    What  is  the  good 
of  circumcision?     Much  in  every  way.     This  to  begin 
with — Jews    were    entrusted    with   the    scriptures    of   God. 

3  Even  supposing  some  of  them  have  proved  untrustworthy, 
is  their  faithlessness   to   cancel   the   faithfulness   of   God? 

4  Never!  Let  God  be  true  to  his  word,  though  every  man  he 
perfidious — as  it  is  written, 

That  thou  mayest  be  vindicated  in  thy  pleadings, 
and  triumph  in  thy  trial. 

5  But  if  our  iniquity  thus  serves  to  bring  out  the  justice 
of  God,  what  are  we  to  infer?  That  it  is  unfair  of  God  to 
inflict  his  anger  on  us?     (T  speak  in  a  merely  human  way.) 

^  Never!  In  that  case,  how  could  he  judge  the  world?  You 
say,  "If  my  perfidy  serves  to  make  the  truthfulness  of  God 
redound  to  his  glory,  why  am  I  to  be  judged  as  a  sinner? 

8  Why  should  v/e  not  do  evil  that  good  may  come  out  of  it?" 
(which  is  the  calumny  attributed  to  me — the  very  thing 
some  people  declare  I  say).  Such  arguments  are  rightly 
condemned. 

9,  Well  now,  are  we  Jews  in  a  better  position?  Not  at  all. 
I  have  already  charged  all,  Jews  as  well  as  Greeks,  with 

10  being  under  sin — as  it  is  written, 

None  is  righteous,  no,  not  one; 

11  no  one  understands,  no  one  seeks  for  God. 

12  All  have  siverved,  one  and  all  have  gone  wrong, 

no  one  does  good,  not  a  single  one. 

13  Their  throat  is  an  open  grave. 

they  are  treacherous  with  their  tongues, 
the  venom  of  an  asp  lies  under  their  lips. 

14  Their  mouth  is  full  of  cursing  and  Mtterness. 

15  their  feet  are  swift  for  bloodshed, 

16  their  tvays  bring  destruction  and  calamity, 

17  they  know  nothing  of  the  way  of  peace; 

18  there  is  no  reverence  for  God  before  their  eyes. 

19  Whatever  the  Law  says,  we  know,  it  says  to  those  who 
are  inside  the  Law,  that  every  mouth  may  be  shut  and 

20  all  the  world  made  answerable  to  God;  for  no  person  will 
be  acquitted  in  his  sight  on  the  score  of  obedience  to  law. 

21  What  the  Law  imparts  is  the  consciousness  of  sin.  But 
now  we  have  a  righteousness  of  God  disclosed  apart  from 
law  altogether;  it  is  attested  by  the  Law  and  the  prophets, 

22  but  it  is  a  righteousness  of  God  which  comes  by  believing 
in  Jesus  Christ.     And  it  is  meant  for  all  who  have  faith. 

23  No  distinctions  are  drawn.  All  have  sinned,  all  come  short 

24  of  the  glory  of  God,  but  they  are  justified  for  nothing  by 
his  grace  through  the  ransom  provided  in  Christ  Jesus, 

25  whom  God  put  for>vrard  as  the  means  of  propitiation  by  his 
blood,  to  be  recei^  ed  by  faith.     This  was  to  demonstrate 


/ 


ROMANS  IV  229 

the  justice  of  God  in  view  of  the  fact  that  sins  previously 
committed  during  the  time  of  God's  forbearance  had  been 

26  passed  over;  it  was  to  demonstrate  his  justice  at  the  pres- 
ent epoch,  showing  that  God  is  just  himself  and  that  he 
justifies  man  on  the  score  of  faith  in  Jesus. 

27  Then  what  becomes  of  our  boasting?  It  is  ruled  out 
absolutely.     On  what  principle?    On  the  principle  of  doing 

28  deeds?  No,  on  the  principle  of  faith.  We  hold  a  man  is 
justified  by  faith  apart  from  deeds  of  the  Law  altogether. 

29  Or  is  God  only  the  God  of  Jews?    Is  he  not  the  God  of  the 

30  Gentiles  as  well?  Surely  he  is.  Well  then,  there  is  one 
God,  a  God  who  will  justify  the  circumcised  as  they  believe 

31  and  the  uncircumcised  on  the  score  of  faith.  Then  'by  this 
faith'  we  'cancel  the  Law'?  Not  for  one  moment!  We  up- 
hold the  Law. 

4  But  if  so,  what  can  we  say  about  Abraham,*  our  fore- 
father by  natural  descent?  This,  that  if  'Abraham 
was  justified  on  the  score  of  what  he  did,'  he  has  some- 
thing to  be  proud  of.     But  not  to  be  proud  of  before  God. 

3  For  what  does  scripture  say?    Abraham  believed  God  and 

4  this  was  counted  to  him  as  righteousness.  Now  a  worker 
has  his  wage  counted  to  him  as  a  due,  not  as  a  favour; 

5  but  a  man  who  instead  of  'working*  believes  in  Him  who 
justifies  the  ungodly,  has  his  faith  counted  as  righteous- 

6  ness.  Just  as  David  himself  describes  the  bliss  of  the 
man  who  has  righteousness  counted  to  him  by  God  apart 
from  what  he  does — 

T      Blessed  are  they  whose  breaches  of  the  Laio  are  forgiven, 
whose  sins  are  covered! 

8  Blessed  is  the  man  tvhose  sin  the 

Lord  will  not  count  to  him. 

9  Now  is  that  description  of  bliss  meant  for  the  circum- 
cised, or  for  the  uncircumcised  as  well?    Abraham's  faith, 

10  I  repeat,  loas  counted  to  him  as  righteousness.  In  what 
way?  When  he  was  a  circumcised  man  or  an  uncircum- 
cised man?     Not  when  he  was  circumcised,  but  when  he 

11  was  uncircumcised.  He  only  got  circumcision  as  a  sign 
or  seal  of  the  righteousness  which  belonged  to  his  faith 
as  an  uncircumcised  man.  The  object  of  this  was  to  make 
him  the  father  of  all  who  believe  as  uncircumcised  persons 

12  and  thus  have  righteousness  counted  to  them,  as  well  as 
a  father  of  those  circumcised  persons  who  not  only  share 
circumcision  but  walk  in  the  steps  of  the  faith  which  our 
father  Abraham  had  as  an  uncircumcised  man. 

13  The  promise  made  to  Abraham  and  his  offspring  that 

*  Omitting,  with  B,  1908*  and  Origen,  eupriK^mi. 


230  ROMANS  V 

lie  should  inherit  the  world,  did  not  reach  him  through 

14  the  Law,  but  through  the  righteousness  of  faith.  For  if 
it  is  adherents  of  the  Law  who  are  heirs,  then  faith  is 

15  empty  of  all  meaning  and  the  promise  is  void.  (What 
the  Law  produces  is  the  Wrath,  not  the  promise  of  God; 
where  there  is  no  law,  there  is  no  transgression  either.) 

16  That  is  why  all  turns  upon  faith;  it  is  to  make  the  promise 
a  matter  of  favour,  to  make  it  secure  for  all  the  offspring, 
not  simply  for  those  who  are  adherents  of  the  Law  but  also 
for  those  who  share  the  faith  of  Abraham — of  Abraham 

17  who  is  the  father  of  us  all  (as  it  is  written,  I  liave  made 
you  a  father  of  many  nations).  Such  a  faith  implies  the 
presence  of  the  God  in  whom  he  believed,  a  God  who  makes 
the   dead  live  and   calls  into  being  what   does  not  exist. 

18  For  Abraham,  when  hope  was  gone,  hoped  on  in  faith,  and 
thus  became  the  father  of  many  nations — even  as  he  was 

19  told,  So  numherless  shall  your  offspring  he.  His  faith 
never  quailed  even  when  he  noted  the  utter  impotence  of  his 
own  body   (for  he  was  about  a  hundred  years  old)   or  the 

20  impotence  of  Sara's  womb;  no  unbelief  made  him  waver 
about  God's  promise;   his  faith  won  strength  as  he  gave 

21  glory  to  God  and  felt  convinced  that  He  was  able  to  do 

22  what  He  had  promised.     Hence  his  faith  was  counted  to 

23  him  as  righteousness.     And  these  words  counted  to  him 

24  have  not  been  written  for  him  alone  but  for  our  sakes  as 
well;  faith  will  be  counted  to  us  as  we  believe  in  Him  who 

25  raised  Jesus  our  Lord  from  the  dead,  Jesus  who  was  deliv- 
ered up  for  our  trespasses  and  raised  that  we  might  be 
justified. 

5  As   we  are  justified  by   faith,   then,   let  us   enjoy  the 
peace  we  have  with  God  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

2  Through  him  we  have  got  access  *  to  this  grace  where  we 
have  our  standing,  and  triumph  in  the  hope  of  God's  glory. 

3  Not  only  so,  but  we  triumph  even  in  our  troubles,  knowing 

4  that  trouble  produces  endurance,  endurance  produces  char- 

5  acter,  and  character  produces  hope — a  hope  which  never 
disappoints  us,  since  God's  love  floods  our  hearts  through 

6  the  holy  Spirit  which  has  been  given  to  us.    For  when  we 
were  still  in  weakness,   Christ  died  in   due  time  for  the 

7  ungodly.     For  the  ungodly!     Why,  a  man  will  hardly  die 
for  the  just — though  one  might  bring  oneself  to  die,  if  need 

8  be,  for  a  good  man.     But  God  proves  his  love  for  us  by 
this,  that  Christ  died  for  us  when  we  were  still  sinners. 

9  Much  more  then,  now  that  we  are  justified  by  his  blood, 
10  shall  we  be  saved  by  him  from  Wrath.    If  we  were  recon- 

*  Omitting  tt?  ntaiti  with  B  D  G,  the  Old  Latin,  and  Origen. 


ROMANS  VI  231 

ciled  to  God  by  the  death  of  his  Son  when  we  were  enemies, 
much  more,  now  that  we  are  reconciled,  shall  we  be  saved 

11  by  his  life.  Not  only  so,  but  we  triumph  in  God  through 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  by  whom  we  now  enjoy  our  recon- 
ciliation. 

12  Thus,  then,  sin  came  into  the  world  by  one  man,  and 
death  came  in  by  sin;  and  so  death  spread  to  all  men,  inas- 

13  much  as  all  men  sinned.  Sin  was  indeed  in  the  world 
before  the  Law,  but  sin  is  never  counted  in  the  absence 

14  of  law.  Nevertheless,  from  Adam  to  Moses  death  reigned 
even  over  those  whose  sins  were  not  like  Adam's  trans- 

15  gression.  Adam  prefigured  Him  who  was  to  come,  but 
the  gift  is  very  different  from  the  trespass.  For  while  the 
rest  of  men  died  by  the  trespass  of  one  man,  the  grace  of 
God  and  the  free  gift  which  comes  by  the  grace  of  the  one 
man  Jesus  Christ  overflowed  far  more  richly  upon  the  rest 

16  of  men.  Nor  is  the  free  gift  like  the  effect  of  the  one  man's 
sin;  for  while  the  sentence  ensuing  on  a  single  sin  resulted 
in  doom,  the  free  gift  ensuing  on  many  trespasses  issues 

17  in  acquittal.  For  if  the  trespass  of  one  man  allowed  death 
to  reign  through  that  one  man,  much  more  shall  those  who 
receive  the  overflowing  grace  and  free  gift  of  righteousness 

18  reign  in  life  through  One,  through  Jesus  Christ.  Well 
then, 

as  one  man's  trespass  issued  in  doom  for  all, 
so  one  man's  act  of  redress  issues  in  acquittal  and  life 
for  all. 

19  Just  as  one  man's  disobedience  made  all  the  rest  sinners, 

so  one  man's  obedience  will  make  all  the  rest  righteous. 

20  Law  slipped  in  to  aggravate  the  trespass;    sin  increased, 

21  but  grace  surpassed  it  far,  so  that,  while  sin  had  reigned  the 
reign  of  death,  grace  might  also  reign  with  a  righteousness 
that  ends  in  life  eternal  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord. 

6  Now  what  are  we  to  infer  from  this?    That  we  are  to 
'remain  on  in  sin,  so  that  there  may  be  all  the  more 

2  grace'?    Never!     How  can  we  live  in  sin  any  longer  when 

3  we  died  to  sin?  Surely  you  know  that  all  of  us  who  have 
been  baptized  into  Christ  Jesus  have  been  baptized  into  his 

4  death!  Our  baptism  in  his  death  made  us  share  his  burial,  so 
that,  as  Christ  was  raised  from  the  dead  by  the  glory  of  the 
Father,  we  too  might  live  and  move  in  the  new  sphere  of  Life. 

5  For  if  we  have  grown  into  him  by  a  death  like  his,  we  shall 

6  grow  into  him  by  a  resurrection  like  his,  knowing  as  we 
do  that  our  old  self  has  been  crucified  with  him  in  order 
to   crush  the   sinful  body  and  free   us  from  any  further 

7  slavery  to  sin  (for  once  dead,  a  man  is  absolved  from  the 

8  claims  of  sin).     We  believe  that  as  we  have   died  with 


232  ROMANS  VII 

9  Christ   we   shall   also   live   with   him;    for   we  know   that 
Christ  never  dies  after  his  resurrection  from  the  dead — 

10  death  has  no  more  hold  over  him;  the  death  he  died  was 

11  for  sin,  once  for  all,  but  the  life  he  lives  is  for  God.  So  you 
must  consider  yourselves  dead  to  sin  and  alive  to  God  in 

12  Christ  Jesus  cur  Lord.    Sin  is  not  to  reign,  then,  over  your 

13  mortal  bodies  and  make  you  obey  their  passions;  you  must 
not  let  sin  have  your  members  for  the  service  of  vice,  you 
must  dedicate  yourselves  to  God  as  men  who  have  been 
brought  from   death   to  life,   dedicating  your  members  to 

14  God  for  the  service  of  righteousness.  Sin  must  have  no 
hold  over  you,  for  you  live  under  grace,  not  under  law. 

15  What  follows,   then?     Are  we   'to   sin,   because  we  live 

16  under  grace,  not  under  law'?  Never!  Do  you  not  know 
you  are  the  servants  of  the  master  you  obey,  of  the  master 
to  whom  you  yield  yourselves  obedient,  whether  it  is  Sin, 
whose  service  ends  in  death,  or  Obedience,  whose  service 

17  ends  in  righteousness?  Thank  God,  though  you  did  serve 
sin,   you  have  rendered  whole-hearted  obedience  to   what 

18  you  were  taught  under  the  rule  of  faith;  set  free  from  sin, 

19  you  have  passed  into  the  service  of  righteousness.  (I  use 
this  human  analogy  to  bring  the  truth  home  to  your  weak 
nature.)  As  you  once  dedicated  your  members  to  the 
service  of  vice  and  lawlessness,*  so  now  dedicate  them  to 
the    service    of    righteousness    that    means    consecration. 

20  When    you    served    sin,    you    were    free    of    righteousness. 

21  Well,  what  did  you  gain  then  by  it  all?  Nothing  but  what 
you  are  now  ashamed  of!     The  end  of  all  that  is  death; 

22  but  now  that  you  are  set  free  from  sin,  now  that  you  have 
passed  into  the  service  of  God,  your  gain  is  consecration, 

23  and  the  end  of  that  is  life  eternal.  Sin's  wage  is  death,  but 
God's  gift  is  life  eternal  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord. 


7  Surely  you  know,  my  brothers — for  I  am  speaking  to 
men  who  know  what  law  means — that  the  law  has  hold 

2  over  a  person  only  during  his  lifetime!  Thus  a  married 
woman  is  bound  by  law  to  her  husband  while  he  is  alive; 
but  if  the  husband  dies,  she  is  done  with  the  law  of  'the 

3  husband.'  Accordingly,  she  will  be  termed  an  adulteress 
if  she  becomes  another  man's  while  her  husband  is  alive; 
but  if  her  husband  dies,  she  is  freed  from  the  law 
of  'the  husband,'  so  that  she  is  no  adulteress  if  she  becomes 

4  another  man's.  It  is  the  same  in  your  case,  my  brothers. 
The  crucified  body  of  Christ  made  you  dead  to  the  Law, 

*  Omitting  els  rrjv  dpo/xiav,  which  Hort  brackets,  as  a  gloss  introduced 
to  complete  the  parallel  of  eis  dyia<xfx6v. 


ROMANS  VII  233 

so  that  you  might  belong  to  another,  to  him  who  was  raised 

5  from  the  dead  that  we  might  be  fruitful  to  God.  For  when 
we  were  unspiritual,  the  sinful  cravings  excited  by  the  Law 
were  active  in  our  members  and  made  us  fruitful  to  Death; 

6  but  now  we  are  done  with  the  Law,  we  have  died  to  what 
once  held  us,  so  that  we  can  serve  in  a  new  way,  not  under 
the  written  code  as  of  old  but  in  the  Spirit. 

7  What  follows,  then?  That  'the  Law  is  equivalent  to  sin'? 
Never!  Why,  had  it  not  been  for  the  Law,  I  would  neve? 
have  known  what  sin  meant!  Thus  I  would  never  have 
known  what  it  is  to  covet,  unless  the  Law  had  said.  You 

8  must  not  covet.  The  command  gave  an  impulse  to  sin,  and 
sin  resulted  for  me  in  all  manner  of  covetous  desire — for 

9  sin,  apart  from  law,  is  lifeless.  I  lived  at  one  time  with- 
out law  myself,  but  when  the  command  came  home  to  me, 

10  sin  sprang  to  life  and  I  died;  the  command  that  meant  life 

11  proved  death  for  me.  The  command  gave  an  impulse  to 
sin,  sin  beguiled  me  and  used  the  command  to  kill  me. 

12  So  the  Law  at  any  rate  is  holy,  the  command  is  holy,  just, 

13  and  for  our  good.  Then  did  what  was  meant  for  my  good 
prove  fatal  to  me?  Never!  It  was  sin;  sin  resulted  in 
death  for  me  by  making  use  of  this  good  thing.  This  was 
how  sin  was  to  be  revealed  in  its  true  nature;  it  was  to  use 

14  the  command  to  become  sinful  in  the  extreme.  The  Law  is 
spiritual;  we  know  that.     But  then  I  am  a  creature  of  the 

15  flesh,  in  the  thraldom  of  sin.  I  cannot  understand  my  own 
actions;    I  do  not  act  as  I  want  to  act;   on  the  contrary, 

16  I  do  what  I  detest.     Now,  when  I  act  against  my  wishes, 

17  that  means  I  agree  that  the  Law  is  right.  That  being  so, 
it  is  not  I  who  do  the  deed  but  sin  that  dwells  within  me. 

18  For  in  me  (that  is,  in  my  flesh)  no  good  dwells,  I  know; 
the  wish  is  there,  but  not  the  power  of  doing  what  is  right. 

19  I  cannot  be  good  as  I  want  to  be,  and  I  do  wrong  against 

20  my  wishes.     Well,  if  I  act  against  my  wishes,  it  is  not  I 

21  who  do  the  deed  but  sin  that  dwells  within  me.  So  this 
is  my  experience  of  the  Law:   I  want  to  do  what  is  right, 

22  but  wrong  is  all  I  can  manage;  I  cordially  agree  with  God's 

23  law,  so  far  as  my  inner  self  is  concerned,  but  then  I  find 
quite  another  law  in  my  members  which  conflicts  with  the 
law  of  my  mind  and  makes  me  a  prisoner  to  sin's  law  that 

25  resides  in  my  members.  (Thus,  left  to  myself,  I  serve  the 
law  of  God  with  my  mind,  but  with  my  flesh  I  serve  the 

24  law  of  sin.)*     Miserable   wretch. that   I   am!      Who   will 

25  rescue  me  from  this  body  of  death?  God  will!  Thanks  be 
to  him  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord! 

*  Restoring  the  second  part  of  ver.  25  to  wha    seems  its  original  and 
logical  position  before  the  climax  of  ver.  24. 


234  ROMANS  VIII 


8 


Thus  there  is  no  doom  now  for  those  who  are  in  Christ 
Jesus;  the  law  of  the  Spirit  brings  the  life  which  is  in 
Christ  Jesus,  and  that  law  has  set  me  free  from  the  law  of 

3  sin  and  death.  For  God  has  done  what  the  Law,  weakened 
here  by  the  flesh,  could  not  do;  by  sending  his  own  Son  in 
the  guise  of  sinful  flesh,  to  deal  with  sin,  he  condemned 

4  sin  in  the  flesh,  in  order  to  secure  the  fulfilment  of  the 
Law's  requirements  in  our  lives,  as  we  live  and  move  not 
by  the  flesh  but  by  the  Spirit. 

5  For  those  who  follow  the  flesh  have  their  interests  in 

the  flesh, 
and  those  who  follow  the  Spirit  have  their  interests  in 
the  Spirit. 

6  The  interests  of  the  flesh  mean  death,. 

the  interests  of  the  Spirit  mean  life  and  peace. 

7  For  the  interests  of  the  flesh  are  hostile  to  God;   they  do 

8  not  yield  to  the  law  of  God   (indeed  they  cannot).     Those 

9  who  are  in  the  flesh  cannot  satisfy  God.  But  you  are  not 
in  the  flesh,  you  are  in  the  Spirit,  since  the  Spirit  of  God 
dwells  within  you.    Anyone  who  does  not  possess  the  Spirit 

10  of  Christ  does  not  belong  to  Him.  On  the  other  hand, 
if  Christ  is  within  you,  though  the  body  is  a  dead  thing 
owing  to  Adam's  sin,  the  spirit  is  living  as  the  result  of 

11  righteousness.  And  if  the  Spirit  of  Him  who  raised  Jesus 
from  the  dead  dwells  within  you,  then  He  who  raised  Christ 
from  the  dead  will  also  make  your  mortal  bodies  live  by 
his  indwelling  Spirit  in  your  lives. 

12  Well  then,  my  brothers,  we  owe  a  duty — but  it  is  not  to 
the  flesh!     It  is  not  to  live  by  the  flesh!     If  you  live  by 

13  the  flesh,  you  are  on  the  road  to  death;  but  if  by  the  Spirit 
you  put  the  actions  of  the  body  to  death,  you  will  live. 

14  For  the  sons  of  God  are  those  who  are  guided  by  the  Spirit 

15  of  God.  You  have  received  no  slavish  spirit  that  would 
make  you  relapse  into  fear;   you  have  received  the  Spirit 

16  of  sonship.  And  when  we  cry,  "Abba!  Father!",  it  is  this 
vSpirit  testifying  along  with  our  own  spirit  that  we   are 

17  children  of  God;  and  if  children,  heirs  as  well,  heirs  of 
God,  heirs  along  with  Christ — for  we  share  his  sufferings 
in  order  to  share  his  glory. 

18  Present  suffering,   I  hold,  is  a  mere  nothing  compared 

19  to  the  glory  that  we  are  to  have  revealed.  Even  the  crea- 
tion waits  with  eager  longing  for  the  sons  of  God  to  be 

20  revealed.  For  creation  was  not  rendered  futile  by  its  own 
choice,  but  by  the  will  of  Him  who  thus  made  it  subject, 

21  the  hope  being  that  creation  as  well  as  man  would  one 
day   be   freed   from    its   thraldom   to   decay   and   gain   the 

22  glorious  freedom  of  the  children  of  God.     To  this  day,  we 

23  know,  the  entire  creation  sighs  and  throbs  with  pain;  and 


ROMANS  IX  235 

not  only  so,  but  even  we  ourselves,  who  have  the  Spirit  as 
a  foretaste  of  the  future,  even  we  sigh  to  ourselves  as  we 
wait  for  the  redemption  of  the  body  that  means  our  full 

24  sonship.  We  were  saved  with  this  hope  in  view.  Now 
when  an  object  of  hope  is  seen,  there  is  no  further  need  to 

25  hope.  Who  ever  hopes  for  what  he  sees  already?  But  if 
we  hope  for  something  that  we  do  not  see,  we  wait  for  it 
patiently. 

26  So  too  the  Spirit  assists  us  in  our  weakness;  for  we  do 
not  know  how  to  pray  aright,  but  the  Spirit  pleads  for 

27  us  with  sighs  that  are  beyond  words,  and  He  who  searches 
the  human  heart  knows  what  is  in  the  mind  of  the  Spirit, 
since  the  Spirit  pleads  before  God  for  the  saints. 

28  We  know  also  that  those  who  love  God,  those  who  have 
been   called   in   terms   of   his   purpose,   have   his   aid   and 

29  interest  in  everything.  For  he  decreed  of  old  that  those 
whom  he  predestined  should  share  the  likeness  of  his  Son' 
— that  he  might  be  the  firstborn  of  a  great  brotherhood. 

30  Then  he  calls  those  whom  he  has  thus  decreed;  then  he 
justifies  those  whom  he  has  called;  then  he  glorifies  those 
whom  he  has  justified. 

31  Now  what  follows  from  all  this?    If  God  is  for  us,  who 

32  can  be  against  us?  The  God  who  did  not  spare  his  own 
Son  but  gave  him  up  for  us  all,  surely  He  will  give  us 

33  everything  besides!     Who  is  to  accuse  the  elect  of  God? 

34  When  God  acquits,  who  sliall  condemn?  Will  Christ? — 
the  Christ  who  died,  yes  and  rose  from  the  dead!  the  Christ 
who  is  at  God's  right  hand,  who  actually  pleads  for  us! 

35  What  can  ever  part  us  from  Christ's  love?  Can  anguish 
or    calamity   or    persecution    or   famine    or    nakedness    or 

36  danger  or  the  sword?     {Because,  as  it  is  written, 

For  thy  sake  we  are  being  killed  all  the  day  long, 
we  are  counted  as  sheep  to  be  slaughtered.) 

37  No,  in  all  this  we  are  more  than  conquerors  through  him 

38  who  loved  us.  For  I  am  certain  neither  death  nor  life, 
neither  angels  nor  principalities,  neither  the  present  nor 

39  the  future,  no  powers  of  the  Height  or  of  the  Depth,  nor 
anything  else  in  all  creation  will  be  able  to  part  us  from 
God's  love  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord. 

9  1  AM  telling  the  truth  in  Christ — it  is  no  lie,  my  con- 
science bears  me  out  in  the  holy  Spirit  when  I  say  that 
I    am   in   sore   pain.      I    suffer   endless   anguish   of   heart. 

3  I  could  have  wished  myself  accursed  and  banished  from 
Christ  for  the  sake  of  my  brothers,  my  natural  kinsmen; 

4  for  they  are  Israelites,  theirs  is  the  Sonship,  the  Glory,  the 
covenants,    the    divine   legislation,    the   Worship,   and   the 

5  promises;  the  patriarchs  are  theirs,  and  theirs  too  (so  far 


236  ROMANS  IX 

as  natural  descent  goes)  is  the  Christ.     (Blessed  for  ever- 
more be  the  God  who  is  over  all!      Amen.) 

6  It  is  not,  of  course,  as  if  God's  word  had  failed!  Far 
from  it!     'Israel'  does  not  mean  everyone  who  belongs  to 

7  Israel;  they  are  not  all  children  of  Abraham  because  they 
are    descended   from  Abraham.     No,   it   is   through  Isaac 

8  that  your  offspring  shall  1)6  reckoned — meaning  that  in- 
stead of  God's  children  being  the  children  born  to  him  by 
natural  descent,  it  is  the  children  of  the  Promise  who  are 

9  reckoned  as  his  true  offspring.  For  when  God  said,  /  ^vill 
come  about  this  time  and  ^ara  shall  have  a  son,  that  was 

10  a  word  of  promise.  And  further,  when  Rebecca  became 
pregnant  by  our  father   Isaac,   though  one  man  was  the 

11  father  of  both  children,  and  though  the  children  were  still 
unborn  and  had  done  nothing  either  good  or  bad  (to  con- 
firm the  divine  purpose  in  election  which   depends  upon 

12  the  call  of  God,  not  on  anything  man  does),  she  was  told 

13  that  the  elder  will  serve  the  younger.  As  it  is  written, 
Jacob  I  loved  but  Esau  I  hated. 

14  Then  are  we  to   infer  that  there  is  injustice  in   God? 

15  Never!     God  says  to  Moses, 

I  icill  have  mercy  on  whom  I  choose  to  have  mercy, 
I  will  have  comjmssion  on  whom  I  choose  to  have  coin- 
passion. 
16.  You  see,  it  is  not  a  question  of  human  will  or  effort  but 

17  of  the  divine  mercy.    Why,  scripture  says  to  Pharaoh, 

It  was  for  this  that  I  raised  you  up, 
to  display  my  power  in  you, 
and  to  spread  news  of  my  name  over  all  the  earth. 

18  Thus  God  has  mercy  on  anyone  just  as  he  pleases, 

and  he  makes  anyone  stubborn  just  as  he  pleases. 

19  "Then,"   you   will  retort,    "why   does   He   go   on  finding 

20  fault?  Who  can  oppose  his  will?"  But  who  are  you,  my 
man,  to  speak  back  to  God?  Is  something  a  man  has 
moulded  to  ask  him   tcho  has  moulded  it,  "Why  did  you 

21  make  me  like  this?"  What!  has  the  potter  no  right  over 
the  clay?  Has  he  no  right  to  make  out  of  the  same  lump 
one  vessel  for  a  noble  purpose  and  another  for  a  menial? 

22  What  if  God,  though  desirous  to  display  his  anger  and 
show  his  might,  has  tolerated  most  patiently  the  objects 

23  of  his  anger,  ripe  and  ready  to  be  destroyed?  What  if  he 
means  to  show  the  wealth  that  lies  in  his  glory  for  the 
objects   of   his   mercy,   whom   he   has  made   ready  before- 

24  hand  to  receive  glory — that  is,  for  us  whom  he  has  called 

25  from  among  the  Gentiles  as  well  as  the  Jews?  As  indeed 
he  says  in  Hosea, 

Those   who   were   no   people   of   mine,   I   icill   call   'my 
People,' 


ROMANS  X  237 

and  her  'beloved'  who  was  not  beloved; 

26  on  the  very  spot  ivhere  they  were   told,   'You  are  no 

people  of  mine,' 
there  shall  they  be  called  'sons  of  the  living  Ood.' 

27  And  Isaiah  exclaims,  with  regard  to  Israel,   Though  the 
number  of  the  sons  of  Israel  be  like  the  sand  of  the  sea, 

28  only  a  remnant  of  them  shall  be  saved;  for  the  Lord  will 
carry  out  his  sentence  on  earth  with  rigour  and  despatch. 

29  Indeed,  as  Isaiah  foretold, 

Had  not  the  Lord  of  hosts  left  us  with  some  descendants, 
we  ivould  have  fared  like  Sodom, 
we  would  have  been  like  Gomorra. 

30  "What  are  we  to  conclude,  then?    That  Gentiles  who  never 
aimed  at  righteousness  have  attained  righteousness,  that 

31  is,   righteousness  by  faith;    whereas   Israel   who   did   aim 
at  the  law  of  righteousness  have  failed  to  reach  that  law.  - 

32  And  why?     Simply  because  Israel  has  relied  not  on  faith 
but  on  what  they  could  do.     They  have  stumbled  over  the 

33  stone  that  makes  men  stuinble — as  it  is  written, 

Here  I  lay  a  stone  in  Sion  that  will  make  men  stumble, 

even  a  rock  to  trip  them  up; 
but  he  who  believes  in  Him  will  never  be  disappointed. 

1  f\  Oh  for  their  salvation,  brothers!     That  is  my  heart's 

2  IV/  desire  and  prayer  to  God!     I  can  vouch  for  their  zeal 

3  for  God;  only,  it  is  not  zeal  with  knowledge.  They  would 
not  surrender  to  the  righteousness  of  God,  because  they 
were  ignorant  of  his  righteousness  and  therefore  essayed 

4  to  set  up  a  righteousness  of  their  own.  Now  Christ  is  an 
end  to  law,  so  as  to  let  every  believer  have  righteousness. 

5  Moses  writes  of  law-righteousness.  Anyone  who  can  per- 

6  form  it,  shall  live  by  it.  But  here  is  what  faith-righteous- 
ness  says: — Say  not  in  your   heart,   'Who   will  go  up   to 

7  heaven?'  (that  is,  to  bring  Christ  down).  Or,  'who  will  go 
down  to   the  abyss f    (that  is,   to  bring  Christ  from   the 

8  dead).  No,  what  it  does  say  is  this: — The  word  is  close 
to  you,  in  your  very  mouth  and  in  your  heart  (that  is,  the 

9  word  of  faith  which  we  preach).  Confess  ivith  your  mouth 
that  'Jesus  is  Lord,'  believe  in  your  heart  that  God  raised 

10  him  from  the  dead,  and  you  will  be  saved;  for 

with  his  heart  man  believes  and  is  justified, 
with  his  mouth  he  confesses  and  is  saved. 

11  Isfo  one  who  believes  in  him,  the  scripture  says,  will  ever 

12  be  disappointed.     No  one — for  there  is  no  distinction  of 
Jew  and  Greek,  the  same  Lord  is  Lord  of  them  all,  with 

13  ample  for  all  who  invoke  him.    Everyone  who  invokes  the 

14  name  of  the  Lord  shall  be  saved.     But  how  are  they  to 
invoke  One  in  whom  they  do  not  believe?    And  how  are 


238  ROMANS  XI 

they  to  believe  in  One  of  whom  they  have  never  heard? 

15  And  how  are  they  ever  to  hear,  without  a  preacher?  And 
how  can  men  preach  unless  they  are  sent? — as  it  is  written, 
How  pleasant  is  the  coming  of  men  loith  glad,  good  neivs! 

16  But  they  have  not  all  given  in  to  the  gospel  of  glad 
news?    No,  Isaiah  says,  Lord,  xvho  lias  believed  what  they 

17  heard  from  us?  (You  see,  faith  must  come  from  what  is 
heard,   and  what  is  heard  comes  from  word  of   Christ.) 

18  But,  I  ask,  "Have  they  never  heard?"    Indeed  they  have. 

Their  voice  carried  over  all  the  earth, 
and  their  words  to  the  end  of  the  world. 

19  Then,  I  ask,  "Did  Israel  not  understand?"  Why,  first  of  all 
Moses  declares, 

/  will  make  you  jealous  of  a  nation  that  is  no  nation, 
I  will  provoke  you   to  anger  over  a  nation  devoid  of 
understanding. 

20  And  then  Isaiah  dares  to  say, 

I  have  been  found  by  those  who  never  sought  me, 

I  have  shown  myself  to  those  who  never  inquired  of  me. 

21  He  also  says  of  Israel,  All  the  day  long  I  have  held  out 
my  hands  to  a  disobedient  and  contrary  people. 

I-t    Then,  I  ask,  has  God  repudiated  his  People?    Never! 
1   Why,  I  am  an  Israelite  myself,  a  descendant  of  Abra- 

2  ham,  a  member  of  the  tribe  of  Benjamin!  God  has  not 
repudiated  his  People,  his  predestined  People!  Surely  you 
know  what  scripture  says  in  the  passage  called  'Elijah'? 

3  You  knowhowhepleads  with  God  against  Israel:  Lord,  they 
have    killed    thy    prophets,    they    have    demolished    thine 

4  altars;  I  alone  am  left,  and  they  seek  my  life.  Yet  what 
is  the  divine  answer?    I  have  left  myself  seven  thousand 

5  men  who   have  not  knelt  to  Baal.     Well,  at  the  present 

6  day  there  is  also  a  remnant,  selected  by  grace.  Selected 
by  grace,  and  therefore  not  for  anything  they  have  done; 
otherwise  grace  would  cease  to  be  grace.* 

7  Now  what  are  we  to  infer  from  this?  That  Israel  has 
failed  to  secure  the  object  of  its  quest;  the  elect  have 
secured  it,  and  the  rest  of  men  have  been  rendered  insen- 

8  sible  to  it — as  it  is  written, 

God  has  given  them  a  spirit  of  torpor, 
eyes  that  see  not,  ears  that  hear  not — 

9  down  to  this  very  day.    And  David  says, 

Let  their  table  prove  a  snare  and  a  trap, 
a  pitfall  and  a  retribution  for  them; 
10      let  their  eyes  be  darkened,  that  they  cannot  see, 
bow  down  their  backs  for  ever. 
*  Omitting  [el  5^  i^  ipyuv^  oiK^ri  ia-rlv  x*'/'",  iird  t6  cpyov  ovk4ti  iariv 
ipyov]  with  the  Latin  version  and  most  MSS. 


ROMANS  XI  239 

11  Now  I  ask,  have  they  stumbled  to  their  ruin?  Never! 
The  truth  is,  that  by  their  lapse  salvation  has  passed  to 

12  the  Gentiles,  so  as  to  make  them  jealous.  Well,  if  their 
lapse  has  enriched  the  world,  if  their  defection  is  the  gain 
of  the  Gentiles,  what  will  it  mean  when  they  all  come  in? 

13  I  tell   you   this,  you   Gentiles,   that  as  an  apostle   to   the 

14  Gentiles  I  lay  great  stress  on  my  office,  in  the  hope  of 
being  able  to  make  my  fellow-Jews  jealous  and  of  manag- 

15  ing  thus  to  save  some  of  them.  For  if  their  exclusion 
means  that  the  world  is  reconciled  to  God,  what  will  their 
admission  mean?    Why,  it  will  be  life  from  the  dead! 

16  If  the  first  handful  of  dough  is  consecrated,  so  is  the 

rest  of  the  lump; 
if  the  root  is  consecrated,  so  are  the  branches. 

17  Supposing  some  of  the  branches  have  been  broken  off, 
while  you  have  been  grafted  in  like  a  shoot  of  wild  olive 

18  to  share  the  rich  growth  of  the  olive-stem,  do  not  pride 
yourself  at  the  expense  of  these  branches.     Remember,  in 

19  your  pride,  the  stem  supports  you,  not  you  the  stem.  You 
will   say,    "But   branches    were   broken    off    to    let    me   be 

20  grafted  in!"  Granted.  They  were  broken  off — for  their 
lack  of  faith.     And  you  owe  your  position  to  your  faith. 

21  You  should  feel  awed  instead  of  being  uplifted.  For  if 
God  did  not  spare  the  natural  branches,  he  will  not  spare 

22  you  either.  Consider  both  the  kindness  and  the  severity 
of  God;  those  who  fall  come  under  his  severity,  but  you 
come  under  the  divine  kindness,  provided  you  adhere  to 
that    kindness.      Otherwise,    you    will    be    cut    away    too. 

23  And  even  the  others  will  be  grafted  in,  if  they  do  not 
adhere   to  their  unbelief;    God   can  graft  them   in  again. 

24  For  if  you  have  been  cut  from  an  olive  which  is  naturally 
wild,  and  grafted,  contrary  to  nature,  upon  a  garden  olive, 
how  much  more  will  the  natural  branches  be  grafted  into 
their  proper  olive? 

25  To  prevent  you  from  being  self-conceited,  brothers,  I 
would  like  you  to  understand  this  secret:  it  is  only  a  par- 
tial insensibility  that  has  come  over  Israel,  until  the  full 

26  number  of  the  Gentiles  come  in.  This  done,  all  Israel 
will  be  saved — as  it  is  written, 

The  deliverer  will  come  from  Sion, 
he  will  banish  all  gocllessness  from  Jacob: 

27  this  is  my  covenant  with  them, 

tohen  I  take  their  sins  aivay. 

28  So  far  as  the  gospel  goes,  they  are  enemies  of  God — which 
is  to  your  advantage;  but  so  far  as  election  goes,  they  are 

29  beloved  for  their  father's  sake.  For  God  never  goes  back 
upon  his  gifts  and  call. 

30  Once  you  disobeyed  God, 


240  ROMANS  XII 

and   now   you   enjoy   his    mercy   thanks   to   their   dis- 
obedience; 
'      in  the  same  way  they  at  present  are  disobedient, 

31  so  that  they  in  turn  may  enjoy  the  same  mercy  as  your- 

selves. 

32  For  God  has  consigned  all  men  to  disobedience, 

that  he  may  have  mercy  upon  all. 

33  What  a  fathomless  wealth  lies  In  the  wisdom  and  knowl- 
edge of  God!  How  inscrutable  his  judgments!  How  mys- 
terious his  methods! 

34  Whoever  understood  the  thoughts  of  the  Lord? 

Who  has  ever  been  his  counsellor? 

35  Who  has  first  given  to  him  and  has  to  be  repaid?  All  comes 
from  him,  all  lives  by  him,  all  ends  in  him.  Glory  to  him 
for  ever,  Amen! 

1  o  Well  then,  my  brothers,  I  appeal  to  you  by  all  the 
1  ^  mercy  of  God  to  dedicate  your  bodies  as  a  living 
sacrifice,  consecrated  and  acceptable  to  God;   that  is  your 

2  cult,  a  spiritual  rite.  Instead  of  being  moulded  to  this 
world,  have  your  mind  renewed,  and  so  be  transformed  in 
nature,  able  to  make  out  what  the  will  of  God  is,  namely, 
what  is  good  and  acceptable  to  him  and  perfect. 

3  In  virtue  of  my  office,  I  tell  everyone  of  your  number 
who  is  self-important,*  that  he  is  not  to  think  more  of  him- 
self than  he  ought  to  think;  he  must  take  a  sane  view 
of   himself,    corresponding   to   the    degree    of    faith   which 

4  God  has  assigned  to  each.  In  our  one  body  we  have  a 
number  of  members,   and   the   members  have  not   all   the 

5  same  function;  so  too,  for  all  our  numbers,  we  form  one 
Body    in    Christ    and    we    are    severally    members    one    of 

6  another.  Our  talents  differ  with  the  grace  that  is  given 
us;    if  the  talent  is  that  of  prophecy,  let  us  employ  it  in 

7  proportion  to  our  faith;  if  it  is  practical  service,  let  us 
mind   our   service;    the   teacher   must   mind   his   teaching, 

8  the  speaker  his  words  of  counsel;  the  contributor  must  be 
liberal,  the   superintendent   must  be   in   earnest,   the   sick 

9  visitor  must  be  cheerful.  Let  your  love  be  a  real  thing, 
v.ith    a    loathing    for    evil    and    a   bent   for    what    is    good. 

10  Put  affection  into  your  love  for  the  brotherhood;   be  for- 

11  ward   to   honour   one   another;    never   let   your   zeal    flag; 

12  maintain  the  spiritual  glow;  serve  the  Lord;  let  your  hope 

13  be  a  joy  to  you;  be  stedfast  in  trouble,  attend  to  prayer,  con- 
tribute  to   needy   saints,   make   a   practice   of   hospitality. 

14  Bless  those  who  make  a  practice  of  persecuting  you;   bless 

15  them   instead   of   cursing  them.     Rejoice   with   those   who 

*  I  accept  the  ingenious  conjecture  that  ri  has  fallen  out  after  6vtl. 


ROMANS  XIII  241 

16  rejoice,  and  weep  with  those  who  weep.  Keep  in  harmony 
with   one   another;    instead   of  being   ambitious,   associate 

17  with  humble  folk;  never  be  self-conceited.  Never  pay  back 
evil  for  evil  to  anyone;   aim  to  be  above  reproach  in  the 

18  eyes  of  all;  be  at  peace  with  all  men,  if  possible,  so  far 

19  as  that  depends  on  you.  Never  revenge  yourselves,  beloved, 
but  let  the  Wrath  of  God  have  its  way;  for  it  is  written, 
Vengeance  is  mine,  I  will  exact  a  requital— the  Lord  has 
said  it.     No, 

20  if  your  enemy  is  hungry,  feed  him, 

if  he  is  thirsty,  give  him  drink; 
for  in  this  way  you  will  make  him 
feel  a  burning  sense  of  shame. 

21  Do  not  let  evil  get  the  better  of  you;  get  the  better  of  evil 
by  doing  good. 

1Q  Every  subject  must  obey  the  government-authorities, 
O  for  no  authority  exists  apart  from  God;   the  existing 

2  authorities  have  been  constituted  by  God.  Hence  anyone 
who   resists   authority  is   opposing   the   divine   order,   and 

3  the  opposition  will  bring  judgment  on  themselves.  Magis- 
trates are  no  terror  to  an  honest  man,*  though  they  are 
to  a  bad  man.  If  you  want  to  avoid  being  alarmed  at  the 
government-authorities,  lead  an  honest  life  and  you  will  be 

4  commended  for  it;  the  magistrate  is  God's  servant  for 
your  benefit.  But  if  you  do  wrong,  you  may  well  be 
alarmed;  a  magistrate  does  not  wield  the  power  of  the 
sword  for  nothing,  he  is  God's  servant  for  the  infliction  of 

5  divine  vengeance  upon  evil-doers.  You  must  be  obedient, 
therefore,  not  only  to  avoid  the  divine  vengeance  but  as 

6  a  matter  of  conscience,  for  the  same  reason  as  you  pay 
taxes — since  magistrates  are  God's  officers,  bent  upon  the 

7  maintenance  of  order  and  authority.  Pay  them  all  their 
respective  dues,  tribute  to  one,  taxes  to  another,  respect 

8  to  this  man,  honour  to  that.  Be  in  debt  to  no  man— apart 
from  the  debt  of  love  one  to  another.     He  who  loves  his 

9  fellow-man  has  fulfilled  the  law.  You  must  not  commit 
adultery,  you  must  not  kill,  you  must  not  steal,  you  must 
not  covet— these  and  any  other  command  are  summed  up 
in  a  single  word,  You  must  love  your  neighbour  as  yourself, 

10  Love  never  wrongs  a  neighbour;  that  is  why  love  is  the 
fulfilment  of  the  law. 

11  And  then  you  know  what  this  Crisis  means,  you  know 
it  is  high  time  to  waken  up;  for  Salvation  is  nearer  to  us 

*  Reading  ayadoefyycf,  Patrick  Young's  attractive  conjecture  (confirmed 
by  the  Ethiopic  version).  As  Hort  points  out,  "  the  apparent  antithesis 
to  T(f  kukQ  could  hardly  fail  to  introduce  ry  dyadif.'' 


242  ROMANS  XIV 

12  now  than  when  we  first  believed.  It  is  far  on  in  the  night, 
the  day  is  almost  here;   so  let  us  drop  the  deeds  of  dark- 

13  ness  and  put  on  the  armour  of  the  light;  let  us  live 
decorously  as  in  the  open  light  of  day — no  revelry  or  bouts 
of  drinking,  no  debauchery  or  sensuality,  no  quarrelling  or 

14  jealousy.  No,  put  on  the  character  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  and  never  think  how  to  gratify  the  cravings  of  the 
flesh. 

U  Welcome  a  man  of  weak  faiwh,  but  not  for  the  purpose 
of    passing    judgment    on    his    scruples.      While    one 
man  has  enough  confidence  to  eat  any  food,  the  man  of 

3  weak  faith  only  eats  vegetables.  The  eater  must  not  look 
down    upon    the    non-eater,    and    the    non-eater    must    not 

4  criticize  the  eater,  for  God  has  welcomed  him.  Who  are 
you  to  criticize  the  servant  of  Another?  It  is  for  his 
Master  to  say  whether  he  stands  or  falls;    and  stand  he 

5  will,  for  the  Master  has  power  to  make  him  stand.  Then 
again,  this  man  rates  one  day  above  another,  while  that 
man  rates  all  days  alike.    Well,  everyone  must  be  convinced 

6  in  his  own  mind;  the  man  who  values  a  particular  day 
does  so  to  the  Lord.* 

The  eater  eats  to  the  Lord, 

since  he  thanks  God  for  his  food; 
the  non-eater  abstains  to  the  Lord, 

and  he  too  thanks  God. 

7  For  none  of  us  lives  to  himself, 

and  none  of  us  dies  to  himself; 

8  if  we  live,  we  live  to  the  Lord, 

and  if  we  die,  we  die  to  the  Lord. 

9  Thus  we  are  the  Lord's  whether  we  live  or  die;  it  was  for 
this  that  Christ  died  and  rose  and  came  to  life,  to  be  Lord 

10  both  of  the  dead  and  of  the  living.  So  why  do  you  criticize 
your  brother?  And  you,  why  do  you  look  down  upon  your 
brother?     All  of  us  have  to  stand  before  the  tribunal  of 

11  God — for  it  is  written. 

As  I  live,  saith  the  Lord,  every  knee  shall  bend  before  me, 
every  tongue  shall  offer  ^jratse  to  God. 

12  Each  of  us  then  will  have  to  answer  for  himself  to  God. 

13  So  let  us  stop  criticizing  one  another;  rather  make  up 
your  mind  never  to  put  any  stumbling-block  or  hindrance 

14  in  your  brother's  way.  I  know,  I  am  certain  in  the  Lord 
Jesus,  that  nothing  is  in  itself  unclean;   only,  anything  is 

15  unclean  for  a  man  who  considers  it  unclean.  If  your 
brother  is  being  injured  because  you  eat  a  certain  food, 

*  Omitting  [xal  6  /irj  (ppovQv  rrjv  rifxipav  Kvplt^)  ov  <ppovet\  with  the  Latin 
version  and  most  manuscripts. 


ROMANS  XV  243 

then  you  are  no  longer  living  by  the  rule  of  love.     Do  not 

let  that  food  of  yours  ruin  the  man  for  whom  Christ  died. 

J^   Your  rights  must  not  get  a  bad  name.     The  Reign  of  God 

is  not  a  matter  of  eating  and   drinking,   it  means  right- 

18  eousness,  joy,  and  peace  in  the  holy  Spirit;  he  who  serves 
Christ  on  these  lines,  is  acceptable  to  God  and  esteemed 

19  by  men.     Peace,  then,  and  the  building  up  of  each  other, 

20  these  are  what  we  must  aim  at.  You  must  not  break  down 
God's  work  for  the  mere  sake  of  food!  Everything  may 
be  clean,  but  it  is  wrong  for  a  man  to  prove  a  stumbling- 

21  block  by  what  he  eats;  the  right  course  is  to  abstain  from 
flesh  or  wine  or  indeed  anything  that  your  brother  feels 

22  to  be  a  stumbling-block.*  Certainly  keep  your  own  con- 
viction on  the  matter,  as  between  yourself  and  God;  he 
is  a  fortunate  man  who  has  no  misgivings  about  what  he 

23  allows  himself  to  eat.  But  if  anyone  has  doubts  about 
eating  and  then  eats,  that  condemns  him  at  once;  it  was 
not  faith  that  induced  him  to  eat,  and  any  action  that  is 
not  based  on  faith  is  a  sin. 

"t  /r  We  who  are  strong  ought  to  bear  the  burdens  that  the 
1  kJ  weak  make  for  themselves  and  us.     We  are  not  to 

2  please  ourselves.     Each  of  us  must  please  his  neighbour, 

3  doing  him  good  by  building  up  his  faith.  Christ  certainly 
did  not  please  himself,  but,  as  it  is  written.  The  reproaches 
of    those    who    denounced    Thee    have   fallen    upon    me. — 

4  All  such  words  were  written  of  old  for  our  instruction, 
that   by   remaining   stedfast   and    drawing   encouragement 

5  from  the  scriptures  we  may  cherish  hope.  May  the  God 
who   inspires   stedfastness   and   encouragement   grant   you 

6  such  harmony  with  one  another,  after  Christ  Jesus,  that 
you  may  unite  in  a  chorus  of  praise  and  glory  to  the  God 

7  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ!  Welcome  one  an- 
other,  then,  as   Christ   has  welcomed   yourselves,   for  the 

8  glory  of  God.  Christ,  I  mean,  became  a  servant  to  the 
circumcised  in  order  to  prove  God's  honesty  by  fulfilling 

9  His  promises  to  the  fathers,  and  also  in  order  that  the 
Gentiles  should  glorify  God  for  His  mercy — as  it  is  written, 

Therefore  will  I  offer  praise  to  Thee  among  the  Gentiles, 
and  sing  to  thy  name; 

10  or  again, 

Rejoice,  0  Gentiles,  with  his  People; 

11  or  again, 

Extol  the  Lord,  all  Gentiles, 
let  all  the  peoples  jJraise  him; 

12  or  again,  as  Isaiah  says, 

*  Omitting  [t)  (TKavbaU^eTai  rj  daeevei]  with  N*  A  C,  Origen,   the  Pe- 
shitto,  etc.,  as  a  homiletic  gloss. 


244  ROMANS  XV 

Then  shall  the  Scion  of  Jessai  live, 
he  who  rises  to  rule  the  Gentiles; 
on  him  shall  the  Gentiles  set  their  hope. 

13  May  the  God  of  your  hope  so  fill  you  with  all  joy  and  peace 
in  your  faith,  that  you  may  be  overflowing  with  hope  by 
the  power  of  the  holy  Spirit! 

14  Personally  I  am  quite  certain,  my  brothers,  that  even  as 
it  is  you  have  ample  goodness  of  heart,  you  are  filled  with 
knowledge  of  every  kind,  and  you  are  well  able  to  give 

15  advice  to  one  another.  Still,  by  way  of  refreshing  your 
memory,  I  have  written  you  with  a  certain  freedom,  in 

16  virtue  of  my  divine  commission  as  a  priest  of  Christ  Jesus 
to  the  Gentiles  in  the  service  of  God's  gospel.  My  aim  is 
to  make  the  Gentiles  an  acceptable   offering,  consecrated 

17  by  the  holy  Spirit.     Now  in  Christ  Jesus  I  can  be  proud 

18  of  my  work  for  God.  I  will  not  make  free  to  speak  of  any- 
thing except  what  Christ  has  accomplished  by  me  in  the 
way  of  securing  the  obedience  of  the  Gentiles,  by  my  words 

19  and  by  my  deeds,  by  the  force  of  miracles  and  marvels, 
by  the  power  of  the  Spirit  of  God.  Thus  from  Jerusalem 
right  round  to  Illyricum,  I  have  been  able  to  complete  the 

20  preaching  of  the  gospel  of  Christ — my  ambition  always 
being  to  preach  it  only  in  places  where  there  had  been  no 
mention  of  Christ's  name,  that  I  might  not  build  on  founda- 

21  tions  laid  by  others,  but  that  (as  it  is  written) 

They  should  see  loho  never  had  learned  about  him, 
and  they  ivho  had  never  heard  of  him  should  understand. 

22  This  is  why  I  have  been  so  often  prevented  from  visiting 

23  you.  But  now,  as  I  have  no  further  scope  for  work  in  these 
parts,  and  as  for  a  number  of  years  I  have  had  a  longing 

24  to  visit  you  whenever  I  went  to  Spain,  I  am  hoping  to 
see  you  on  my  way  there,  and  to  be  sped  forward  by  you 

25  after  I  have  enjoyed  your  company  for  a  while.  At  the 
moment  I  am  off  to  Jerusalem  on  an  errand  to  the  saints, 

26  For  Macedonia  and  Achaia  have  decided  to  make  a  con- 

27  tribution  for  the  poor  among  the  saints  at  Jerusalem.  Such 
was  their  decision;  and  yet  this  is  a  debt  they  owe  to  these 
people,  for  if  the  Gentiles  have  shared  their  spiritual 
blessings,  they  owe  them  a  debt  of  aid  in  material  blessings. 

28  Well,  once  I  finish  this  business  by  putting  the  proceeds 
of   the   collection   safely   in   their  hands,   I   will  Start  for 

29  Spain  and  take  you  on  the  way.  When  I  do  come  to  you, 
I  know  I  will  bring  a  full  blessing  from  Christ. 

30  Brothers,  I  beg  of  you,  by  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  by 
the  love  that  the  Spirit  inspires,  rally  round  me  by  pray- 

31  ing  to  God  for  me;  pray  that  I  may  be  delivered  from  the 
unbelievers  in  Judaea,  and  also  that  my  mission  tc   Jeru- 


ROMANS  XVI  245 

32  salem  may  prove  acceptable  to  the  saints.  Then,  by  God's 
will,  I  shall  gladly  come  to  you  and  rest  beside  you. 

33  The  God  of  peace  be  with  you  all!     Amen. 

1  f*  Let  me  introduce  our  sister  Phoebe,  a  deaconess  of 

2  lv>the  church  at  Cenchreae;  receive  her  in  the  Lord 
as  saints  should  receive  one  another,  and  give  her  any  help 
she  may  require.  She  has  been  a  help  herself  to  many 
people,  including  myself. 

3  Salute  Prisca  and  Aquila,  my  fellow-workers  in  Christ 

4  Jesus,  who  have  risked  their  lives  for  me;   I  thank  them, 

5  and  not  only  I  but  all  the  Gentile  churches  as  well.  Also, 
salute  the  church  that  meets  in  their  house.  Salute  my 
beloved    Epaenetus,    the    first    in    Asia    to    be    reaped    for 

6  Christ.      Salute    Mary,    who    has    worked    hard    for    you. 

7  Salute  Andronicus  and  Junias,  fellow-countrymen  and  fel- 
low-prisoners of  mine;  they  are  men  of  note  among  the 
apostles,  and  they  have  been  in  Christ  longer  than  I  have. 

I  Salute  Amplias,  my  beloved  in  the  Lord.  Salute  Urbanus, 
our    fellow-worker    in    Christ,    and    my    beloved    Stachys. 

10  Salute    that   tried    Christian,    Apelles.      Salute    those    who 

11  belong  to  the  household  Oj!  Aristobulus.  Salute  my  fel- 
low-countryman  Herodion.      Salute   such   members   of   the 

12  household  of  Narcissus  as  are  in  the  Lord.  Salute  Try- 
phaena  and  Tryphosa,  who  work  hard  in  the  Lord.  Salute 
the  beloved  Persis;  she  has  worked  very  hard  in  the  Lord. 

13  Salute  that  choice  Christian,  Rufus;  also  his  mother,  who 

14  has  been  a  mother  to  me.  Salute  Asyncritus,  Phlegon, 
Hermes,  Patrobas,  Hermas,  and  the  brothers  of  their  com- 

15  pany.     Salute  Philologus  and  Julia,  Nereus  and  his  sister, 

16  Olympas  too,  and  all  the  saints  in  their  company.  Salute 
one  another  with  a  holy  kiss.  All  the  churches  of  Christ 
salute  you. 

17  Brothers,  I  beg  of  you  to  keep  your  eye  on  those  who 
stir  up  dissensions  and  put  hindrances  in  your  way,  con- 
trary to  the  doctrine  which  you  have  been  taught.     Avoid 

18  them.  Such  creatures  are  no  servants  of  Christ  our  Lord, 
they  are  slaves  of  their  own  b?se  desires;  with  their  plausi- 
ble and  pious  talk  they  beguile  the  hearts  of  unsuspecting 

19  people.  But  surely  not  of  you!  Everyone  has  heard  of 
your  loyalty  to  the  gospel;  it  makes  me  rejoice  over  you. 
Still,  I  want  you  to  be  experts  in  good  and  innocents  in 

20  evil.  The  God  of  peace  will  soon  crush  Satan  under  your 
feet! 

The  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  be  with  you. 

21  Timotheus  my  fellow-worker  salutes  you;  so  do  my  fel- 
low-countrymen Lucius,  Jason,  and  Sosipater. 

22  I  Tertius,  who  write  the  letter,  salute  you  in  the  Lord. 


246  ROMANS  XVI 

23  Gaius,  my  host  and  the  host  of  the  church  at  large, 
salutes  you.  Erastus  the  city-treasurer  salutes  you;  so  does 
brother  Quartus. 

25  [Now  to  Him  who  can  strengthen  you  by  my  gospel, 
by  the  preaching  of  Jesus  Christ,  by  revealing  the  secret 

26  purpose  which  after  the  silence  of  long  ages  has  now  been 
disclosed  and  made  known  on  the  basis  of  the  prophetic 
scriptures    (by  command   of  the  eternal   God)    to  all  the 

27  Gentiles  for  their  obedience  to  the  faith — to  the  only  wise 
God  be  glory  through  Jesus  Christ  for  ever  and  ever: 
Amen.] 


THE  FIRST  EPISTLE  OF  PAUL  THE  APOSTLE  TO  THE 

CORINTHIANS 

IPaul,  called  to  be  an  apostle  of  Jesus  Christ  by  the  will 
of  God,  with  brother  Sosthenes,  to  the  church  of  God 
at  Corinth,  to  those  who  are  consecrated  in  Christ  Jesus, 
called  to  be  saints,  as  well  as  to  all  who,  wherever  they 
may  be,  invoke  the  name  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  their 

3  Lord  no  less  than  ours:  grace  and  peace  to  you  from  God 
our  Father  and  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

4  I  always  thank  my  God  for  the  grace  of  God  that  has 

5  been  bestowed  on  you  in  Christ  Jesus;  in  him  you  have 
received  a  wealth  of  all  blessing,  full  power  to  speak  of 

6  your  faith  and  full  Insight  into  its  meaning,  all  of  which 
verifies  the  testimony  we  bore  to  Christ  when  we  were 

7  with  you.  Thus  you  lack  no  spiritual  endowment  during 
these  days  of  waiting  till  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  revealed; 

8  and  to  the  very  end  he  will  guarantee  that  you  are  vin- 

9  dicated  on  the  day  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Faithful  is 
the  God  who  called  you  to  this  fellowship  with  his  Son 
Jesus  Christ  our  Lord. 

10  Brothers,  for  the  sake  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  I  beg 
of  you  all  to  drop  these  party-cries.  There  must  be  no 
cliques  among  you;  you  must  regain  your  common  temper 

11  and  attitude.     For  Chloe's  people  inform  me  that  you  are 

12  quarrelling.  By  'quarrelling'  I  mean  that  each  of  you  has 
his  party-cry,  "I  belong  to  Paul,"  "And  I  to  Apollos,"  "And 

13  I  to  Cephas,"  "And  I  to  Christ."  Has  Christ  been  parcelled 
out?    Was  it  Paul  who  was  crucified  for  you?     Was  it  in 

14  Paul's  name  that  you  were  baptized?  I  am  thankful  now 
that  I  baptized  none  of  you,   except  Crispus  and  Gains, 

15  so  that  no  one  can  say  you  were  baptized  in  my  name. 

16  (Well,  I  did  baptize  the  household  of  Stephanas,  but  no  one 

17  else,  as  far  as  I  remember.)  Christ  did  not  send  me  to 
baptize  but  to  preach  the  gospel. 

And  to  preach  it  with  no  fine  rhetoric,  lest  the  cross  of 

18  Christ  should  lose  its  power!  Those  who  are  doomed 
to  perish  find  the  story  .of  the  cross  'sheer  folly,'  but  it 

19  means  the  power  of  God  for  those  whom  he  saves.  It  is 
written, 

I  will  destroy  the  wisdom  of  the  sages, 

20  I  will  confound  the  insight  of  the  wise.     Sage,  smZ>e, 

247 


248  I.  CORINTHIANS  II 

critic  of  this  world,  where  are  they  all?     Has  not  God 

21  stultified  the  wisdom  of  the  world?  For  when  the  world 
with  all  its  wisdom  failed  to  know  God  in  his  wisdom,  God 
resolved  to  save  believers  by  the  'sheer  folly'  of    the  Chris- 

22  tian  message.     Jews   demand  miracles  and   Greeks  want 

23  wisdom,  but  our  message  is  Christ  the  crucified — a  stum- 

24  bling-block  to  the  Jews,  'sheer  folly'  to  the  Gentiles,  but  for 
those  who  are  called,  whether  Jews  or  Greeks,  a  Christ  who 
is  the  power  of  God  and  the  wisdom  of  God. 

25  For  the  'foolishness'  of  God  is  wiser  than  men, 
and  the  'weakness'  of  God  is  stronger  than  men. 

26  Why,  look  at  your  own  ranks,  my  brothers;  not  many 
wise  men  (that  is,  judged  by  human  standards),  not  many 
leading  men,  not  many  of  good  birth,  have  been  called! 

27  No, 

God  has  chosen  what  is  foolish  in  the  world 
to  shame  the  wise; 

28  God  has  chosen  what  is  weak  in  the  world 

to  shame  what  is  strong; 
God  has  chosen  what  is  mean  and  despised  in  the  world — 
things  which  are  not,  to  put  down  things  that  are; 
1^   that  no  person  may  boast  in  the  sight  of  God.    This  is  the 
God  to  whom  you  owe  your  being  in  Christ  Jesus,  whom 
God  has  made   our   'Wisdom,'   that   is,   our   righteousness 
31  and  consecration  and  redemption;  so  that,  as  it  is  written, 
Jet  him  who  doasts  boast  of  the  Lord. 

2  Thus  when  I  came  to  you,  my  brothers,  I  did  not  come 
to  proclaim  to  you  God's  secret  purpose^^  with  any  elab- 

2  orate  words  or  wisdom.  I  determined  among  you  to  be 
ignorant    of    everything    except    Jesus    Christ,    and    Jesus 

3  Christ   the   crucified.     It  was  in  weakness   and  fear  and 

4  with  great  trembling  that  I  visited  you;  what  I  said,  what 
I  preached,  did  not  rest  on  the  plausible  arguments  of 
'wisdom'  but  on  the  proof  supplied  by  the  Spirit  and  its 

5  power,  so  that  your  faith  might  not  rest  on  any  human 
'wisdom'  but  on  the  power  of  God. 

6  We  do  discuss  'wisdom'  with  those  who  are  mature; 
only  it  is  not  the  wisdom  of  this  world  or  of  the  dethroned 

7  Powers  who  rule  this  world,  it  is  the  mysterious  Wisdom 
of  God  that  we  discuss,  that  hidden  wisdom  which  God 

8  decreed  from  all  eternity  for  our  glory.  None  of  the  Powers 
of  this  world  understands  it  (if  they  had,  they  would  never 

9  have  crucified  the  Lord  of  glory).    No,  as  it  is  written, 

*  The  textual  evidence  for  fiapriiptov  is  slightly  stronger,  but  I  incline 
upon  the  whole  to  regard  it  as  a  secondary  reading,  due  to  i.  6,  and  to 
adopt  fxvaTT^piov. 


I.  CORINTHIANS  III  249 

what  no  eye  Tia^  ever  seen, 

what  no  car  has  ever  heard, 

what  never  entered  the  mind  of  man, 

God  has  prepared  all  that  for  those  who  love  him. 

10  And  God  has  revealed  it  to  us  by  the  Spirit,  for  the  Spirit 
fathoms  everything,  even  the  depths  of  God. 

11  What  human  being  can  understand  the  thoughts  of   a 

man, 
except  the  man's  own  inner  spirit? 
So  too  no  one  understands  the  thoughts  of  God, 
except  the  Spirit  of  God. 

12  Now  we  have  received  the  Spirit — not  the  spirit  of  the 
world  but  the  Spirit  that  comes  from  God,  that  we  may 

13  understand  what  God  bestows  upon  us.  And  this  is  what 
we  discuss,  using  language  taught  by  no  human  wisdom 
but  by  the  Spirit.    We  interpret  what  is  spiritual  in  spirit- 

14  ual  language.  The  unspiritual  man  rejects  these  truths 
of  the  Spirit  of  God;  to  him  they  are  'sheer  folly,'  he 
cannot  understand   them.     And   the   reason   is,   that  they 

15  must  be  read  with  the  spiritual  eye.  The  spiritual  man, 
again,  can  read  the  meaning  of  everything;  and  yet  no  one 

16  can  read  what  he  is.  For  ivho  ever  understood  the  thoughts 
of  the  Lord,  so  as  to  give  him  instruction?  No  one. 
Well,  our  thoughts  are  Christ's  thoughts. 

3  But  I  could  not  discuss  things  with  you,  my  brothers,, 
as  spiritual  persons;  I  had  to  address  you  as  worldlings, 

2  as  mere  babes  in  Christ.  I  fed  you  with  milk,  not  with 
solid  food.     You  were  not  able  for  solid  food,  and  you  are 

3  not  able  even  now;  you  are  still  worldly.  For  with 
jealousy  and  quarrels  in  your  midst,  are  you  not  worldly, 

4  are  you  not  behaving  like  ordinary  men?  When  one  cries, 
"I   belong  to  Paul,"   and  another,   "I   belong  to   Apollos," 

5  what  are  you  but  men  of  the  world?  Who  is  Apollos? 
Who  is  Paul?  They  are  simply  used  by  God  to  give  you 
faith,  each  as  the  Lord  assigns  his  task. 

6  I  did  the  planting,  Apollos  did  the  watering, 

but  it  was  God  who  made  the  seed  grow. 

7  So  neither  planter  nor  waterer  counts, 

but  God  alone  who  makes  the  seed  grow. 

8  Still,  though  planter  and  waterer  are  on  the  same  level,, 
each  will  get  his  own  wage  for  the  special  work  that  he 
has  done. 

9  We    work    together    in    God's    service;    you    are    God's 
10  field  to  be  planted,  God's  house  to  be  built.  In  virtue  of 

my  commission  from  God,  I  laid  the  foundation  of  the 
house  like  an  expert  master-builder.  It  remains  for  another 
to  build  on  this  foundation.     Whoever  he  is,  let  him  be 


250  I.  CORINTHIANS  IV 

11  careful   how  he  builds.     The  foundation   is  laid,   namely 

12  Jesus  Christ,  and  no  one  can  lay  any  other.  On  that 
foundation  anyone  may  build  gold,  silver,  precious  stones, 

13  wood,  hay,  or  straw,  but  in  every  case  the  nature  of  his 
work  will  come  out;  the  Day  will  show  what  it  is,  for  the 
Day  breaks  in  fire,  and  the  fire  will  test  the  work  of  each, 
no  matter  what  that  work  may  be. 

14  If  the  structure  raised  by  any  man  survives, 

he  will  be  rewarded; 

15  if  a  man's  work  is  burnt  up, 

he  will  be  a  loser — 

and    though    he    will    be    saved   himself,    he    will    be 
snatched  from  the  very  flames. 

16  Do  you  not  know  you  are  God's  temple  and  that  God's 

17  Spirit  dwells  within  you?  God  will  destroy  anyone  who 
would  destroy  God's  temple,  for  God's  temple  is  sacred — 
and  that  is  what  you  are. 

18  Let  no  one  deceive  himself  about  this;  whoever  of  you 
imagines  he  is  wise  wiih  this  world's  wisdom  must  become 

19  a  'fool,'  if  he  is  really  to  be  wise.  For  God  ranks  this 
world's  wisdom  as  'sheer  folly.'     It  is  written,  He  seizes 

20  the  icise  in  their  craftiness,  and  again.  The  Lord  Tcnoios 
the  reasoning  of  the  luise  is  futile. 

21  So  you  must  not  boast  about  men.     For  all  belongs  to 

22  you;    Paul,    Apollos,    Cephas,    the    world,    life,    death,    the 

23  present  and  the  future — all  belongs  to  you;  and  you  belong 
to  Christ,  and  Christ  to  God. 


4  This  is  how  you  are  to  look  upon  us,  as  servants  of 
Christ  and  stewards  of  God's  secret  truths.     Now  in 
this  matter  of  stewards  your  first  requirement  is  that  they 

3  must  be  trustworthy.  It  matters  very  little  to  me  that  you 
or  any  human  court  should  cross-question  me  on  this  point. 

4  I  do  not  even  cross-question  myself;  for,  although  I  am 
not  conscious  of  having  anything  against  me,  that  does  not 
clear  me.     It  is  the  Lord  who  cross-questions  me  on  the 

5  matter.  So  do  not  criticize  at  all;  the  hour  of  reckon- 
ing has  still  to  come,  when  the  Lord  will  come  to  bring 
dark  secrets  to  the  light  and  to  reveal  life's  inner  aims  and 
motives.  Then  each  of  us  will  get  his  meed  of  praise 
from  God. 

6  Now  I  have  applied  what  has  been  said  above  to  myself 
and  Apollos,  to  teach  you  .  .  .  *that  you  are  not  to  be 
puffed  up  with  rivalry  over  one  teacher  as  against  another. 

*  The  text  and  the  meaning  of  the  phrase  between  /J-ddrjTe  and  tva  fii) 
are  beyond  recovery. 


1.  CORINTHIANS  V  251 

7  Who  singles  you  out,  my  brother?  What  do  you  possess 
that  has  not  been  given  you?  And  if  it  was  given  you, 
why  do  you  boast  as  if  it  had  been  gained,  not  given? 

8  You  Corinthians  have  your  heart's  desire  already,  have 
you?  You  have  heaven's  rich  bliss  already!  You  have 
come  into  your  kingdom  without  us!  I  wish  indeed  you 
had  come  into  your  kingdom,  so  that  we  could  share  it 

9  with  you!  For  it  seems  to  me  that  God  means  us  apostles 
to  come  in  at  the  very  end,  like  the  doomed  gladiators 
in  the  arena!     We  are  made  a  spectacle  to  the  world,  to 

10  angels  and  to  men!  We,  for  Christ's  sake,  are  'fools'; 
you  in  Christ  are  sensible.    We  are  weak,  you  are  strong; 

11  you  are  honoured,  we  are  in  disrepute.  To  this  very  hour 
we  hunger  and  thirst,  we  are  ill-clad  and  knocked  about, 

12  we  are  waifs,  we  work  hard  for  our  living;  when  reviled, 

13  we  bless;  when  persecuted,  we  put  up  with  it;  when 
defamed,  we  try  to  conciliate.  To  this  hour  we  are  treated 
as  the  scum  of  the  earth,  the  very  refuse  of  the  world! 

14  I  do  not  write  this  to  make  you  feel  ashamed,  but  to 

15  instruct  you  as  beloved  children  of  mine.  You  may  have 
thousands  to  superintend  you  in  Christ,  but  you  have  not 
more  than  one  father.    It  was  I  who  in  Christ  Jesus  became 

16  your  father  by  means  of  the  gospel.     Then  imitate  me, 

17  I  beg  of  you.  To  ensure  this,  I  am  sending  you  Timotheus, 
my  beloved  and  trustworthy  son  in  the  Lord;  he  will 
remind   you   of   those  methods   in   Christ  Jesus   which   I 

18  teach  everywhere  in  every  church.  Certain  individuals 
have  got  puffed  up,  have  they,  as  if  I  were  not  coming  my- 

19  self?  I  will  come  to  you  before  long,  if  the  Lord  wills,  and 
then  I  will  find  out  from  these  puffed  up  creatures  not 

20  what  their  talk  but  what  their  power  amounts  to.  For  God's 

21  Reign  does  not  show  itself  in  talk  but  in  power.  Which  is 
it  to  be?  Am  I  to  come  to  you  with  a  rod  of  discipline 
or  with  love  and  a  spirit  of  gentleness? 


5  It  is  actually  reported  that  there  is  immorality  among 
you,  and  immorality  such  as  is  unknown  even  among 

2  pagans — that  a  man  has  taken  his  father's  wife!  And  yet 
you  are  puffed  up!  You  ought  much  rather  to  be  mourn- 
ing the  loss  of  a  member!     Expel  the  perpetrator  of  such  a 

3  crime!  For  my  part,  present  with  you  in  spirit  though 
absent  in  body,  I  have  already,  as  in  your  presence,  passed 

4  sentence  on  such  an  offender  as  this,  by  the  authority  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ;  I  have  met  with  you  in  spirit  and 

5  by  the  power  of  our  Lord  Jesus  I  have  consigned  that 
individual  to  Satan  for  the  destruction  of  his  flesh,  in  order 
that  his  spirit  may  be  saved  on  the  Day  of  the  Lord  Jesus. 


252  I.  CORINTHIANS  VI 

6  Your  boasting  is  no  credit  to  you.     Do  you  not  know  that 

7  a  morsel  of  dough  will  leaven  the  whole  lump?  Clean  out 
the  old  dough  that  you  may  be  a  fresh  lump.  For  you  are 
free  from  the  old  leaven;  Christ  our  pasclial  lamh  has  been 

8  sacrificed.  So  let  us  celebrate  our  festival,  not  with  any 
old  leaven,  not  with  vice  and  evil,  but  with  the  unleavened 
bread  of  innocence  and  integrity. 

9  In  my  letter  I  wrote  that  you  were  not  to  associate  with 

10  the  immoral.  I  did  not  mean  you  were  literally  to  avoid 
contact  with  the  immoral  in  this  world,  with  the  lustful 
and  the  thievish,  or  with  idolaters;  in  that  case  you  would 

11  have  to  leave  the  world  altogether.  What  I  now  write  is 
that  you  are  not  to  associate  with  any  so-called  brother 
who  is  immoral  or  lustful  or  idolatrous  or  given  to  abuse 
or  drink  or  robbery.     Associate  with  him!      Do  not  even 

12  eat  with  him!  Outsiders  it  is  no  business  of  mine  to  judge. 
No,  you  must  judge  those  who  are  inside  the  church,  for 

13  yourselves;  as  for  outsiders,  God  will  judge  them.  Expel 
the  wicked  from  your  company/. 


6Whex  any  of  you  has  a  grievance  against  his  neigh- 
bour, do  you  dare  to  go  to  law  in  a  sinful  pagan  court, 
2  instead  of  laying  the  case  before  the  saints?    Do  you  not 
know  the  saints  are  to  manage  the  world?     If  the  world 
is  to  come  under  your  jurisdiction,  are  you  incompetent  to 
8  adjudicate  upon  trifles?    Do  you  not  know  we  are  to  manage 

4  angels,  let  alone  mundane  issues?  And  yet,  when  you 
have  mundane  issues  to  settle,  you  refer  them  to  the  judg- 
ment of  men  who  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  church  are 

5  of  no  account!  I  say  this  to  put  you  to  shame.  Has  it 
come  to  this,  that  there  is  not  a  single  wise  man  among 
you  who  could  decide  a  dispute  between  members  of  the 

6  brotherhood,    instead    of    one   brother   going   to   law    with 

7  another — and  before  unbelievers  too!  Even  to  have  law- 
suits with  one  another  is  in  itself  evidence  of  defeat. 
Why   not    rather    let   yourselves   be    wronged?     Why    not 

8  rather  let  yourselves  be  defrauded?  But  instead  of  that 
you    inflict    wrong    and    practise    frauds — and    that    upon 

9  members  of  the  brotherhood!  What!  do  you  not  know  that 
the  wicked  will  not  inherit  the  Realm  of  God?  Make  no 
mistake  about  it;    neither  the  immoral  nor  idolaters  nor 

10  adulterers  nor  catamites  nor  sodomites  nor  thieves  nor 
the  lustful  nor  the  drunken  nor  the  abusive  nor  robbers 

11  will  inherit  the  Realm  of  God.  Some  of  you  were  once 
like  that;  but  you  washed  yourselves  clean,  you  were  con- 
secrated, you  were  justified  in  the  name  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  and  in  the  Spirit  of  our  God. 


I.  CORINTHIANS  VII  255 

12  'All  things  are  lawful  for  me'? 

Yes,  but  not  all  are  good  for  me. 
'All  things  are  lawful  for  me'? 

Yes,  but  I  am  not  going  to  let  anything  master  me. 

13  *Food  is  meant  for  the  stomach,  and  the  stomach  for 

food'? 
Yes,  and  God  will  do  away  with  the  one  and  the  other. 
The  body  is  not  meant  for  immorality  but  for  the  Lord, 

14  and  the  Lord  is  for  the  body;  and  the  God  who  raised  the 

15  Lord  will  also  raise  us  by  his  power.     Do  you  not  know 
your  bodies  are  members  of  Christ?    Am  I  to  take  Christ's 

16  members  and  devote  them  to  a  harlot?    Never!     Do  you 
not  know  that 

he  who  joins  himself  to  a  harlot 
is  one  with  her  in  body 
(for  the  pair,  it  is  said,  shall  become  one  flesh), 

17  while  he  who  joins  himself  to  the  Lord 

is  one  with  him  in  spirit. 

18  Shun  immorality!     Any  other  sin  that  a  man  commits  is 
outside  the  body,  but  the  immoral  man  sins  against  his 

19  body.     Do  you  not  know  your  body  is  the  temple  of  the 
holy  Spirit  within  you — the  Spirit  you  have  received  from 

20  God?    You  are  not  your  own,  you  were  bought  for  a  price; 
then  glorify  God  with  your  body. 


7  Now  about  the  questions  in  your  letter. 
It  is  an  excellent  thing  for  a  man  to  have  no  intercourse 

2  with  a  woman;  but  there  is  so  much  immorality  that  every 
man  had  better  have  a  wife  of  his  own  and  every  woman 
a  husband  of  her  own. 

3  The  husband  must  give  the  wife  her  conjugal  dues, 

and  the  wife  in  the  same  way  must  give  her  husband 
his; 

4  the  wife  cannot  do  as  she  pleases  with  her  body — her 

husband  has  power, 
and  in  the  same  way  the  husband  cannot  do  as  he 
pleases  with  his  body — his  wife  has  power. 

5  Do  not  withhold  sexual  intercourse  from  one  another, 
unless  you  agree  to  do  so  for  a  time  in  order  to  devote 
yourselves   to   prayer.     Then   come   together   again.     You 

6  must  not  let  Satan  tempt  you  through  incontinence.  But 
what  I  have  just  said  is  by  way  of  concession,  not  com- 

7  mand.  I  would  like  all  men  to  be  as  I  am.  However, 
everyone  is  endowed  by  God  in  his  own  way;  he  has  a  gift 
for  the  one  life  or  the  other. 

8  To  the  unmarried  and  to  widows  I  would  say  this:  it  is 
an  excellent   thing  if  like  me   they  remain  as  they  are. 


254  I.  CORINTHIANS  VII 

9  Still,  if  they  cannot  restrain  themselves,  let  them  marry. 
Better  marry  than  be  aflame  with  passion! 

10  For  married  people  these  are  my  instructions  (and  they 
are  the  Lord's,  not  mine).    A  wife  is  not  to  separate  from 

11  her  husband — if  she  has  separated,  she  must  either  remain 
single  or  be  reconciled  to  him — and  a  husband  must  not  put 
away  his  wife. 

12  To  other  people  I  would  say  (not  the  Lord) :  — 
if  any  brother  has  a  wife  who  is  not  a  believer, 

and  if  she  consents  to  live  with  him, 
he  must  not  put  her  away; 

13  and  if  any  wife  has  a  husband  who  is  not  a  believer, 
and  if  he  consents  to  live  with  her, 

she  must  not  put  her  husband  away. 

14  For  the  unbelieving  husband  is  consecrated  in  the  per- 

son of  his  wife, 
and  the  unbelieving  wife  is  consecrated  in  the  person 
of  the  Christian  brother  she  has  married; 
otherwise,  of  course,  your  children  would  be  unholy  instead 

15  of  being  consecrated  to  God.  (Should  the  unbelieving  part- 
ner be  determined  to  separate,  however,  separation  let  it 
be;  in  such  cases  the  Christian  brother  or  sister  is  not 
tied  to  marriage.)     It  is  to  a  life  of  peace  that  God  has 

16  called  us.*  O  wife,  how  do  you  know  you  may  not  save 
your  husband?  O  husband,  how  do  you  know  you  may 
not  save  your  wife? 

17  Only,  everyone  must  lead  the  lot  assigned  him  by  the 
Lord;  he  must  go  on  living  the  life  in  which  God's  call 
came  to  him.  (Such  is  the  rule  I  lay  down  for  all  the 
churches). 

18  "Was  a  man  circumcised  at  the  time  he  was  called? 

Then  he  is  not  to  efface  the  marks  of  it. 
Has  any  man  been  called  when  he  was  uncircumcised? 
Then  he  is  not  to  get  circumcised. 

19  Circumcision  counts  for  nothing,  uncircumcision  counts 
for  nothing;   obedience  to  God's  commands  is  everything. 

20  Everyone  must  remain  in  the  condition  of  life  where  he 

21  was  called.  You  were  a  slave  when  you  were  called? 
Never  mind.     Of  course,  if  you  do  find  it  possible  to  get 

22  free,  you  had  better  avail  yourself  of  the  opportunity.  But 
a  slave  who  is  called  to  be  in  the  Lord  is  a  freedman  of 
the  Lord.     Just  as  a  free  man  who  is  called  is  a  slave  of 

23  Christ    (for  you  were  bought  for  a  price;    you  must  not 

24  turn  slaves  to  any  man).  Brothers,  everyone  must  remain 
with  God  in  the  condition  of  life  where  he  was  called. 

*  Reading  "jy^as  with  B  D  G,  the  Latin  version,  Origen,  Chrysostom, 
etc.,  instead  of  v/xSis. 


I.  CORINTHIANS  VII  255 

25  I  have  no  orders  from  the  Lord  for  unmarried  women^ 
but  I  will  give  you  the  opinion  of  one  whom  you  can  trust, 

26  after  all  the  Lord's  mercy  to  him.  Well,  what  I  think  is 
this:  that,  considering  the  imminent  distress  in  these  days, 
it  would  be  an  excellent  plan  for  you  to  remain  just  as 
you  are. 

27  Are  you  tied  to  a  wife?    Never  try  to  untie  the  knot. 

Are  you  free?    Never  try  to  get  married. 

28  Of  course,  if  you  are  actually  married,  there  is  no  sin  in 

that; 
and  if  a  maid  marries,  there  is  no  sin  in  that. 
(At  the  same  time  those  who  marry  will  have  outward 

29  trouble — and  I  would  spare  you  that.)     I  mean,  brothers, — 

the  interval  has  been  shortened; 
so  let  those  who  have  wives  live  as  if  they  had  none, 

30  let  mourners  live  is  if  they  were  not  mourning, 
let  the  joyful  live  as  if  they  had  no  joy, 

let  buyers  live  as  if  they  had  no  hold  on  their  goods, 

31  let  those  who  mix  in  the  world  live  as  if  they  were  not 

engrossed  in  it, 
for  the  present  phase  of  things  is  passing  away. 

32  I  want  you  to  be  free  from  all  anxieties. 

The  unmarried  man  is  anxious  about  the  Lord's  affairs, 
how  best  to  satisfy  the  Lord; 

33  the  married  man  is  anxious  about  worldly  affairs, 

34  how  best  to   satisfy  his  wife — so  he   is  torn  in  two 

directions. 
The  unmarried  woman   or  the  maid  *   is  also  anxious 
about  the  Lord's  affairs, 
how  to  be  consecrated,  body  and  spirit; 
once  married,  she  is  anxious  about  worldly  affairs, 
how  best  to  satisfy  her  husband. 

35  I  am  saying  this  in  your  own  interests.  Not  that  I  want 
to  restrict  your  freedom.  It  is  only  to  secure  decorum 
and  concentration  upon  a  life  of  devotion  to  the  Lord. 

36  At  the  same  time,  if  any  man  considers  he  is  not  behav- 
ing properly  to  the  maid  who  is  his  spiritual  bride,  if  his 
passions  are  strong  and  if  it  must  be  so,  then  let  him  do 
what  he  wants — let  them  be  married;  it  is  no  sin  for  him. 

37  But  the  man  of  firm  purpose  who  has  made  up  his  mind, 
who,  instead  of  being  forced  against  his  will,  has  deter- 
mined to  himself  to  keep  his  maid  a  spiritual  bride — that 

38  man  will  be  doing  the  right  thing.  Thus  both  are  right 
alike  in  marrying  and  in  refraining  from  marriage,  but 
he  who  does  not  marry  will  be  found  to  have  done  better. 

39  A  woman  is  bound  to  her  husband  during  his  lifetime; 

*  Reading  V  yvvi]  ij  Aya/jLos  /cat  ij  irap6^"os  with  p^^  b  p^  ^i^e  Vulgate,  etc. 


256  I.  CORINTHIANS  VIII,  IX 

but  if  he  dies,  she  is  free  to  marry  anyone  she  pleases — 
40  only,  it  must  be  a  Christian.     However,  she  is  happier  if 
she  remains  as  she  is;  that  is  my  opinion — and  I  suppose 
I  have  the  Spirit  of  God  as  well  as  other  people! 


8 


With   regard  to  food   that  has  been   offered  to  idols. 
Here,  of  course,  'we  all  possess  knowledge'!     Knowledge 

2  puffs  up,  love  builds  up.  Whoever  imagines  he  has  attained 
to  some  degree  of  knowledge,  does  not  possess  the  true 

3  knowledge  yet;   but  if  anyone  loves  God,  he  is  known  by 

4  Him.  Well  then,  with  regard  to  food  that  has  been  offered 
to  idols,  I  am  quite  aware  that  'there  is  no  such  thing 
as  an  idol  in  the  world'  and  that  'there  is  only  the  one 

5  God.'  (So-called  gods  there  may  be,  in  heaven  or  on  earth — 
as  indeed  there  are  plenty  of  them,  both  gods  and  'lords' — 

6  but  for  us 

there  is  one  God,  the  Father, 
from  whom  all  comes, 
and  for  whom  we  exist; 
one  Lord,  Jesus  Christ, 
by  whom  all  exists, 
and  by  whom  we  exist.) 

7  But  remember,  it  is  not  everyone  who  has  this  'knowledge.' 
Some  who  have  hitherto  been  accustomed  to  idols  eat  the 
food  as  food  which  has  been  really  offered  to  an  idol,  and 

8  so  their  weaker  conscience  is  contaminated.  Now  mere 
food  will  not  bring  us  any  nearer  to  God; 

if  we  abstain  we  do  not  lose  anything, 
and  if  we  eat  we  do  not  gain  anything. 

9  But  see  that  the  exercise  of  your  right  does  not  prove  any 

10  stumbling-block  to  the  weak.  Suppose  anyone  sees  you, 
a  person  of  enlightened  mind,  reclining  at  meat  inside  an 
idol's  temple;  will  that  really  'fortify  his  weak  conscience'? 
Will  it  not  embolden  him  to  violate  his  scruples  of  con- 
science  by   eating   food   that   has   been   offered   to    idols? 

11  He  is  ruined,  this  weak  man,  ruined  by  your  'enlightened 

12  mind,'  this  brother  for  whose  sake  Christ  died!  By  sin- 
ning against  the  brotherhood  in  this  way  and  wounding 
their  weaker  consciences,  you  are  sinnkig  against  Christ. 

13  Therefore  if  food  is  any  hindrance  to  my  brother's  welfare, 
sooner  than  injure  him  I  will  nerer  eat  flesh  as  long  as 
I  live,  never! 

9  Am  I  not  free?    Am  I  hot  an  apostle?    Have  I  not  seen 
Jesus  our  Lord?     Are  you  not  the  work  I  have  accom- 
2  plished  in  the  Lord?    To  other  people  I  may  be  no  apostle, 
but  to  you  I  am,  for  you  are  the  seal  set  upon  my  apostle- 


I.  CORINTHIANS  IX  257 

3  ship  in  the  Lord.     Here  is  my  reply  to  my  inquisitors. 

4  Have  we  no  right  to  eat  and  drink  at  the  expense  of  the 

5  churches?  Have  we  no  right  to  travel  with  a  Christian 
wife,  like  the  rest  of  the  apostles,  like  the  brothers  of  the 

6  Lord,  like  Cephas  himself?  What!  are  we  the  only  ones, 
myself  and  Barnabas,  who  are  denied  the  right  of  abstain- 

7  ing  from  work  for  our  living?  Does  a  soldier  provide  his 
own  supplies?  Does  a  man  plant  a  vineyard  without  eating 
its  produce?    Does  a  shepherd  get  no  drink  from  the  milk 

8  of  the  flock?    Human  arguments,  you  say?    But  does  not 

9  Scripture  urge  the  very  same?  It  is  written  in  the  law 
of  Moses,  You  must  not  muzzle  an  ox  when  he  is  treading 

10  the  grain.  Is  God  thinking  here  about  cattle?  Or  is  he 
speaking  purely  for  our  sakes?  Assuredly  for  our  sakes. 
This  word  was  written  for  us,  because  the  ploughman  needs 
to  plough  in  hope,  and  the  thresher  to  thresh  in  the  hope  of 

11  getting  a  share  in  the  crop.  If  we  sowed  you  the  seeds 
of  spiritual  good,   is  it  a  great  matter  if  we  reap  your 

12  worldly  goods?  If  others  share  this  right  over  you,  why 
not  we  all  the  more?  We  did  not  avail  ourselves  of  it, 
you  say?  No,  we  do  not  mind  any  privations  if  we  can 
only  avoid  putting  any  obstacle  in  the  way  of  the  gospel 

13  of  Christ.  Do  you  not  know  that  as  men  who  perform 
temple-rites  get  their  food  from  the  temple,  and  as  attend- 

14  ants  at  the  altar  get  their  share  of  the  sacrifices,  so  the 
Lord's    instructions    were    that    those    who    proclaim    the 

15  gospel  are  to  get  their  living  by  the  gospel?  Only,  I  have 
not  availed  myself  of  any  of  these  rights,  and  I  am  not 
writing  in  order  to  secure  any  such  provision  for  myself. 
I  would  die  sooner  than  let  anyone  deprive  me  of  this,  my 

16  source  of  pride.  What  I  am  proud  of  is  not  the  mere 
preaching   of   the   gospel;    that    I    am   constrained   to    do. 

17  Woe  to  me  if  I  do  not  preach  the  gospel!  I  get  a  reward 
if  I  do  it  of  my  own  accord,  whereas  to  do  it  otherwise 
is   no   more   than   for   a  steward   to   discharge   his   trust. 

18  And  my  reward?  This,  that  I  can  preach  the  gospel  free 
of  charge,  that  I  can  refrain  from  insisting  on  all  my  rights 

19  as  a  preacher  of  the  gospel.     Why, 

free  as  I  am  from  all,  I  have  made  myself  the  slave  of  all,, 
to  win  over  as  many  as  I  could. 

20  To  Jews  I  have  become  like  a  Jew, 

to  win  over  Jews; 
to  those  under  the  Law  I  have  become  as  one  of  them- 
selves— 
though  I  am  not  under  the  Law  myself — 

to  win  over  those  under  the  Law; 

21  to  those  outside  the  Law  I  have  become  like  one  of  them- 

selves— 


258  I.  CORINTHIANS  X 

though  I  am  under  Christ's  law,  not  outside  God's  Law — 
to  win  over  those  outside  the  Law; 

22  to  the  weak  I  have  become  as  weak  myself, 

to  win  over  the  weak. 
To  all  men  I  have  become  all  things, 

to  save  some  by  all  and  every  means. 

23  And  I  do  it  all  for  the  sake  of  the  gospel,  to  secure  my 

24  own  share  in  it.  Do  you  not  know  that  in  a  race,  though 
all  run,  only  one  man  gains  the  prize?     Run  so  as  to  win 

25  the  prize.  Every  athlete  practices  self-restraint  all  round; 
but  while  they  do  it  to  win  a  fading  wreath,  we  do  it  for 

26  an  unfading.    Well,  I  run  without  swerving;  I  do  not  plant 

27  my  blows  upon  the  empty  air — no,  I  maul  and  master  my 
body,  in  case,  after  preaching  to  other  people,  I  am  dis- 
qualified myself. 


1  C\  ^^^  ^  would  have  you  know  this,  my  brothers,  that 
1  v/  while  our  fathers  all  lived  under  the  cloud,  all  crossed 

2  through  the  sea,  all  w^ere  baptized  into  Moses  by  the  cloud 

3  and  by  the  sea,  all  ate  the  same  supernatural  food,  and  all 
*  drank   the   same   supernatural    drink    (drinking  from   the 

5  supernatural    Rock    which    accompanied    them — and    that 
Rock  was  Christ),  still  with  most  of  them  God  was  not 

6  satisfied;  tJieij  were  laid  low  in  the  desert.    Now  this  took 
place  as  a  warning  for  us,  to  keep  us  from  craving  for  evil 

7  as  they  craved.    And  you  must  not  be  idolaters,  like  some 
of  them;   as  it  is  written, 

the  people  sat  down  to  eat  and  drink, 
and  they  rose  up  to  make  sport. 

8  Nor  must  we  commit  immorality,  as  some  of  them  did — 
and  in  a  single  day  twenty-three  thousand  of  them  fell. 

9  Nor  must  we  presume  upon  the  Lord  as  some  of  them  did 

10  — only  to  be  destroyed  by  serpents.  And  you  must  not 
murmur,  as  some  of  them  did — only  to  be  destroyed  by  the 

11  Destroying  angel.  It  all  happened  to  them  by  way  of  warn- 
ing for  others,  and  it  was  written  down  for  the  purpose 
of  instructing  us  whose  lot  has  been  cast  in  the  closing 

12  hours  of  the  world.     So  let  anyone  who  thinks  he  stands 

13  secure,  take  care  in  case  he  falls.  No  temptation  has  way- 
laid you  that  is  beyond  man's  power;  trust  God,  he  will 
never  let  you  be  tempted  beyond  what  you  can  stand,  but 
when  temptation  comes,  he  will  provide  the  way  out  of  it, 
so  that  you  can  bear  up  under  it. 

14  Shun  idolatry,  then,  my  beloved.     I  am  speaking  to  sen- 

15  sible  people;  weigh  my  words  for  yourselves. 

16  The  cup  of  blessing,  which  we  bless, 

is  that  not  participating  in  the  blood  of  Christ? 


I.  CORINTHIANS  XI  259 

The  bread  we  break, 

is  that  not  participating  in  the  body  of  Christ? 

17  (for  many  as  we  are,  we  are  one  Bread,  one  Body,  since 

18  we  all  partake  of  the  one  Bread).  Look  at  the  rites  of 
Israel.     Do  not  those  who  eat  the  sacrifices  participate  in 

19  the  altar?  Do  I  imply,  you  ask,  that  'food  offered  to  an 
idol  has  any  meaning,  or  that  an  idol  itself  means  any- 

20  thing'?  No,  what  I  imply  is  that  anything  people  sacrifice 
is  sacrificed  to  daemons,  not  to  God.    And  I  do  not  want 

21  you  to  participate  in  daemons!  You  cannot  drink  the  cup 
of  the  Lord  and  also  the  cup  of  daemons;  you  cannot  par- 
take of  the  table  of  the  Lord  and  also   of  the  table  of 

22  daemons.  What!  do  we  intend  to  rouse  the  Lord's  jeal- 
ousy?   Are  we  stronger  than  he  is? 

23  'All  things  are  lawful'? 

Yes,  but  not  all  are  good  for  us. 
'All  things  are  lawful'? 

Yes,  but  not  all  are  edifying. 

24  Each  of  us  must  consult  his  neighbour's  interests,  not  his 

25  own.  Eat  any  food  that  has  been  sold  in  the  market, 
instead   of   letting   scruples   of   conscience   oblige   you   to 

26  ask  any  questions  about  it;  the  earth  and  all  its  contents 

27  'belong  to  the  Lord.  When  an  unbeliever  invites  you  to 
dinner  and  you  agree  to  go,  eat  whatever  is  put  before 
you,  instead  of  letting  scruples  of  conscience  induce  you 

28  to  ask  any  questions  about  it.  But  if  someone  tells  you, 
'This  was  sacrificial  meat,'  then  do  not  eat  it;  you  must 
consider  the  man  who  told  you,  and  also  take  conscience 

29  into  account — his  conscience,  I  mean,  not  your  own;  for 
why  should  one's  own  freedofn  be  called  in  question  by 

30  someone  else's  conscience?  If  one  partakes  of  food  after 
saying  a  blessing  over  it,  why  should  one  be  denounced 

31  for  eating  what  one  has  given  thanks  to  God  for?  So 
whether  you  eat  or  drink,  or  whatever  you  do,  let  it  be  all 

32  done  for  the  glory  of  God.    Put  no  stumbling-block  in  the 

33  way  of  Jews  or  Greeks  or  the  church  of  God.  Such  is  my 
own  rule,  to  satisfy  all  men  in  all  points,  aiming  not  at  my 
own  advantage  but  at  the  advantage  of  the  greater  num- 

nber — at  their  salvation.  Copy  me,  as  I  copy  Christ. 

I  commend  you   for  always  bearing  me   in  mind 
and  for  maintaining  the  traditions   I  passed  on   to  you. 

3  But  I  would  like  you  to  understand  this:  Christ  is 
the  head  of  every  man,  man  is  the  head  of  woman,  and 

4  God  is  the  head  of  Christ.    Any  man  who  prays  or  proph- 

5  esies  with  a  veil  on  his  head  dishonours  his  head,  while 
any  woman  who  prays  or  prophesies  without  a  veil  on  her 
head  dishonours  her  head;  she  is  no  better  than  a  shaven 

6  woman.     If  a  woman  will  not  veil  herself,  she  should  cut 


260  L.  CORINTHIANS  XI 

off  her  hair  as  well.     But  she  ought  to  veil  herself;  for  it 
is  disgraceful  that  a  woman  should  have  her  hair  cut  off 

7  or  be  shaven.     Man  does  not  require  to  have  a  veil  on  his 
head,  for  he  represents  fhe  likeness  and  supremacy  of  God; 

8  but  woman  represents  the  supremacy  of  man.   (Man  was 

9  not  made  from  woman,  woman  was  made  from  man;   and 
man  was  not  created  for  woman,  but  woman  for  man.) 

10  Therefore,    in   view   of   the   angels,   woman   must   wear   a 

11  symbol  of  subjection  on  her  head.  (Of  course,  in  the  Lord, 
woman   does  not  exist  apart  from  man,   any  more   than 

12  man  apart  from  woman;  for  as  woman  was  made  from 
man,  so  man  is  now  made  from  woman,  while  both,  like 

13  all  things,  come  from  God.)     Judge  for  yourselves;   is  it 

14  proper  for  an  unveiled  woman  to  pray  to  God?  Surely 
nature  herself  teaches  you  that  while  long  hair  is  disgrace- 

15  ful  for  a  man,  for  a  woman  long  hair  is  a  glory?    Her  hair 

16  is  given  her  as  a  covering.  If  anyone  presumes  to  raise 
objections  on  this  point — well,  I  acknowledge  no  other 
mode  of  worship,  and  neither  do  the  churches  of  God. 

17  But  in  giving  you  the  following  injunction  I  cannot 
commend  you;   for  you  are  the  worse,  not  the  better,  for 

1^  assembling  together.  First  of  all,  In  your  church-meet- 
ings I  am  told  that  cliques  prevail.     And  I  partly  believe 

19  it.     There  must  be  parties  among  you,  if  genuine  Chris- 

20  tians  are  to  be  recognized.  But  this  makes  it  impossible 
for  you  to  eat  the  'Lord's'  supper  when  you  hold  your 

21  /gatherings.     As  you  eat,  everyone  takes  his  own  supper; 

22  one  goes  hungry  while  another  gets  drunk.  What!  have 
you  no  houses  to  eat  and  drink  in?  Do  you  think  you  can 
show  disrespect  to  'the  ^hurch  of  God  and  put  the  poor 
to  shame?    What  can  I  say  to  you?    Commend  you?    Not 

23  for  this.  I  passed  on  to  you  what  I  received  from  the 
Lord  himself,  namely,  that  on  the  night  he  was  betrayed 

24  the  Lord  Jesus  took  a  loaf,  and  after  thanking  God  he 
broke  it,  saying,  'This  means  my  body  broken*  for  you; 

25  do  this  in  memory  of  me.'  In  the  same  way  he  took  the 
cup  after  supper,  saying,  'This  cup  means  the  new  covenant 
ratified  ly  my  Mood;  as  often  as  you  drink  it,  do  it  in 

26  memory  of  me.'  For  as  often  as  you  eat  this  loaf  and 
drink  this  cup,  you  proclaim   the  Lord's   death   until  he 

27  comes.  Hence  anyone  who  eats  the  loaf  or  drinks  the  cup 
of  the  Lord  carelessly,  will  have  to  answer  for  a  sin  against 

28  the  body  and  the  blood  of  the  Lord.    Let  a  man  test  him- 

*  Von  Soden  brackets  KXivfievov,  but  it  must  be  read  with  fc<c  C,  two 
correctors  of  D  (which  originally  read  epvirrbfuvov) ,  G,  the  Old  Latin  and 
Syriac  Vulgate,  Chrysostom,  etc.  If  it  is  a  gloss,  it  is  a  correct  one, 
unless  the  Lucan  diSSixevov  be  preferred. 


I.  CORINTHIANS  XII  261 

self;  then  he  can  eat  from  the  loaf  and  drink  from  the  cup. 

29  For  he  who  eats  and  drinks  without  a  proper  sense  of  the 

30  Body,  eats  and  drinks  to  his  own  condemnation.  That  is 
why  many  of  you  are  ill  and  infirm,  and  a  number  even 

31  dead.     If  we  only  judged  our  own  lives  truly,  we  would 

32  not  come  under  the  Lord's  judgment.  As  it  is,  we  are 
chastened  when  we  are  judged  by  him,  so  that  we  may  not 
be  condemned  along  with  the  world. 

83  Well  then,  my  brothers,  when  you  gather  for  a  meal,  wait 
34  for  one  another;   and  if  anyone  is  hungry  let  him  eat  at 

home.  You  must  not  gather,  only  to  incur  condemnation. 
I  will  give  you  my  instructions  upon  the  other  matters 

when  I  come. 

"1  o  But  I  want  you  to  understand  about  spiritual  gifts, 

2  M.  ^  brothers.     You   know   when  you   were   pagans,   how 

3  your  impulses  led  you  to  dumb  idols;  so  I  tell  you  now, 
that  no  one  is  speaking  in  the  Spirit  of  God  when  he  cries. 
'Cursed  be  Jesus,'  and  that  no  one  can  say,  'Jesus  is  Lord,' 
except  in  the  holy  Spirit. 

4  There  are  varieties  of  talents, 

but  the  same  Spirit; 

5  varieties  of  service, 

but  the  same  Lord; 

6  varieties  of  effects, 

but  the  same  God  who  effects  everything  in  everyone. 

7  Each    receives    his    manifestation    of    the    Spirit    for    the 

8  common  good.  One  man  is  granted  words  of  wisdom  by 
the  Spirit,  another  words  of  knowledge  by  the  same  Spirit; 

9  one  man  in  the  same  Spirit  has  the  gift  of  faith,  another 

10  in  the  one  Spirit  has  gifts  of  healing;  one  has  prophecy, 
another  the  gift  of  distinguishing  spirits,  another  the  gift 
of  'tongues'  in  their  variety,  another  the  gift  of  interpreting 

11  'tongues.'  But  all  these  effects  are  produced  by  one  and 
the  same  Spirit,  apportioning  them  severally  to  each  in- 
dividual as  he  pleases. 

12  As  the  human  body  is  one  and  has  many  members,  all 
the  members  of  the  body  forming  one  body  for  all  their 

13  number,  so  is  it  with  Christ.  For  by  one  Spirit  we  have 
all  been  baptized  into  one  Body,  Jews  or  Greeks,  slaves  or 

14  freemen;  we  have  all  been  imbued  with  one  Spirit.  Why, 
even  the  body  consists  not  of  one  member  but  of  many. 

15  If  the  foot  were  to  say,  'Because  I  am  not  the  hand,  I  do 
not  belong  to  the  body,'  that  does  not  make  it  no  part  of 

16  the  body.  If  the  ear  were  to  say,  'Because  I  am  not  the 
eye,  I  do  not  belong  to  the  body,*  that  does  not  make  it 

17  no  part  of  the  body.  If  the  body  were  all  eye,  where 
would  hearing  be?    If  the  body  were  all  ear,  where  would 


262  I.  CORINTHIANS  XIII 

18  smell  be?    As  it  is,  God  has  set  the  members  in  the  body, 

19  each  as  it  pleased  him.     If  they  all  made  up  one  member, 

20  what  would  become  of  the  body?    As  it  is,  there  are  many 

21  members  and  one  body.  The  eye  cannot  say  to  the  hand, 
'I  have  no  need  of  you,'  nor  again  the  head  to  the  feet,  'I 

22  have  no  need  of  you.'  Quite  the  contrary.  We  cannot  do 
without  those  very  members  of  the  body  which  are  con- 

23  sidered  rather  delicate,  just  as  the  parts  we  consider  rather 
dishonourable  are  the  very  parts  we  invest  with  special 
honour;  our  indecorous  parts  get  a  special  care  and  atten- 

24  tion  which  does  not  need  to  be  paid  to  our  more  decorous 
parts.     Yes,  God  has  tempered  the  body  together,  with  a 

25  special  dignity  for  the  inferior  par.s,  so  that  there  may 
be  no  disunion  in  the  body,  but  that  the  various  members 

26  should  have  a  common  concern  for  one  another.    Thus 

if  one  member  suffers, 
•   all  the  members  share  its  suffering; 
if  one  member  is  honoured, 
all  the  members  share  its  honour. 

27  Now  you  are  Christ's  Body,  and  severally  members  of  it. 

28  That  is  to  say,  God  has  set  people  within  the  church  to 
be  first  of  all  apostles,  secondly  prophets,  thirdly  teachers, 
then  workers  of  miracles,  then  healers,  helpers,  administra- 

29  tors,  and  .peakers  in  'tongues'  of  various  kinds.  Are  all 
apostles?     Are  all  prophets?     Are  all  teachers?     Are  all 

30  y/orkers  of  miracles?  Are  all  endowed  with  the  gifts  of 
healing?  Are  all  able  to  speak  in  'tongues'?  Are  all  able 
to  interpret? 

31  Set  your  hearts  on  the  higher  talents.  And  yet  I  will 
go  on  to  show  you  a  still  higher  path.     Thus, 

1  Q  I  may  speak  with  the  tongues  of  men  and  of  angels, 
lO      but  if  I  have  no  love, 

I  am  a  noisy  gong  or  a  clanging  cymbal; 

2  I  may  prophesy,  fathom  all  mysteries  and  secret  lore, 

I  may  have  such  absolute  faith  that  I  can  move  hills 
from   their  place, 
but  if  I  have  no  love, 
I  count  for  nothing; 

3  I  may  distribute  all  I  possess  in  charity, 
I  may  give  up  my  body  to  be  burnt, 

but  if  I  have  no  love, 
I  make  nothing  of  it. 

4  Love  is  very  patient,  very  kind.    Love  knows  no  jealousy; 

5  love  makes  no  parade,  gives  itself  no  airs,  is  never  rude, 

6  never  selfish,  never  irritated,  never  resentful;  love  is  never 
glad  when  others   go  wrong,  love  is  gladdened  by   good- 

7  ness,  always  slow  to  expose,  always  eager  to  believe  the 

8  best,    always   hopeful,    always    patient.      Love    never    dis- 


I.  CORINTHIANS  XIV  263 

appears.     As  for  prophesying,   it  will  be  superseded;    as 

for  'tongues,'  they  will  cease;  as  for  knowledge,  it  will  be 

9  superseded.     For  we  only  know  bit  by  bit,  and  we  only 

10  prophesy  bit  by  bit;   but  when  the  perfect  comes,  the  im- 

11  perfect  will  be  superseded.  When  I  was  a  child,  I  talked 
like  a  child,  I  thought  like  a  child,  I  argued  like  a  child; 
now  that  I  am  a  man,  I  am  done  with  childish  ways. 

12  At  present  we  only  see  the  baffling  reflections  in  a  mirror, 

but  then  it  will  be  face  to  face; 
at  present  I  am  learning  bit  by  bit, 
but  then  I  shall  understand,  as  all  along  I  have  myself 
been  understood. 

13  Thus  'faith  and  hope  and  love  last  on,  these  three,'  but 

Uthe  greatest  of  all  is  love.  Make  love  your  aim,  and 

then  .set  your  heart  on  the  spiritual  gifts — especially 

2  upon  prophecy.  For  he  who  speaks  in  a  'tongue'  addresses 
God  not  men;    no  one  understands  him;    he  is  talking  of 

3  divine  secrets  in  the  Spirit.  On  the  other  hand,  he  who 
prophesies  addresses  men  in  words  that  edify,  encourage, 

4  and  console  them.    He  who  speaks  in  a  'tongue'  edifies  him- 

5  self,  whereas  he  who  prophesies  edifies  the  church.  Now 
I  would  like  you  all  to  speak  with  'tongues,'  but  I  would 
prefer  you  to  prophesy.  The  man  who  prophesies  is  higher 
than  the  man  who  speaks  with  'tongues' — unless  indeed 
the  latter  interprets,  so  that  the  church  may  get  edifica- 

6  tion.  Suppose  now  I  were  to  come  to  you  speaking  with 
'tongues,'  my  brothers;  what  good  could  I  do  you,  unless 
I  had  some  revelation  or  knowledge  or  prophecy  or  teach- 

7  ing  to  lay  before  you?  Inanimate  instruments,  such  as  the 
flute  or  the  harp,  may  give  a  sound,  but  if  no  intervals 
occur  in  their  music,  how  can  one  make  out  the  air  that 

8  is  being  played  either  on  flute  or  on  harp?    If  the  trumpet 

9  sounds  indistinct,  who  will  get  ready  for  the  fray?  Well, 
it  is  the  same  with  yourselves.  Unless  your  tongue  utters 
language  that  is  readily  understood,  how  can  people  make 
out  what  you  say?     You  will  be  pouring  words  into  the 

10  empty  air!     There  are  ever  so  many  kinds  of  language  in 

11  the  w^orld,  every  one  of  them  meaning  something.  Well, 
unless  I  understand  the  meaning  of  what  is  said  to  me,  I 
shall  appear  to  the  speaker  to  be  talking  gibberish,  and 

12  to  my  mind  he  will  be  talking  gibberish  himself.  So  with 
yourselves;  since  your  heart  is  set  on  possessing  'spirits,' 
make  the  edification  of  the  church  your  aim  in  this  desire 

13  to  excel.     Thus  a  man  who  speaks  in  a  'tongue'  must  pray 

14  for  the  gift  of  interpreting  it.  For  if  I  pray  with  a 
'tongue,'  my  spirit  prays,  no  doubt,  but  my  mind  is  no  use 

15  to  anyone.  Very  well  then,  I  will  pray  in  the  Spirit,  but 
I  will  also  pray  with  my  mind;   I  will  sing  praise  in  the 


264  I.  CORINTHIANS  XIV 

16  Spirit,  but  I  will  also  sing  praise  with  my  mind.  Other- 
wise, suppose  you  are  blessing  God  in  the  Spirit,  how  is  the 
outsider  to  say  'Amen'  to  your  thanksgiving?     The  man 

17  does  not  understand  what  you  are  saying!  Your  thanks- 
giving may  be  all  right,  but  then — the  other  man  is  not 

18  edified!     Thank  God,  I  speak  in  'tongues'  more  than  any 

19  of  you;  but  in  church  I  would  rather  say  five  words  with 
my  own  mind  for  the  instruction  of  other  people  than  ten 
thousand  words  in  a  'tongue.' 

20  Brothers,  do  not  be  children  in  the  sphere  of  intelligence; 
in  evil  be  mere  infants,  but  be  mature  in  your  intelligence. 

21  It  is  written  in  the  Law,  By  men  of  alien  tongues  and  by 
the  lips  of  aliens  I  will  speak  to  this  People ;  hut  even  so, 

22  they  will  not  listen  to  me,  saith  the  Lord.  Thus  'tongues'  are 
intended  as  a  sign,  not  for  believers  but  for  unbelievers; 
whereas  prophesying  is  meant  for  believers,  not  for  unbe- 

23  lievers.  Hence  if  at  a  gathering  of  the  whole  church 
everybody  speaks  with  'tongues,'  and  if  outsiders  or  un- 
believers   come    in,    will    they    not    say    you    are    insane? 

24  Whereas,  if  everybody  prophesies,  and  some  unbeliever  or 
outsider  comes  in,  he  is  exposed  by  all,  brought  to  book  by 

25  all;  the  secrets  of  his  heart  are  brought  to  light,  and  so, 
falling  on  his  face,  he  will  loorship  God,  declaring,  'God  is 
really  among  you.' 

26  Very  well  then,  brothers;  when  you  meet  together,  each 
contributes  something — a  song  of  praise,  a  lesson,  a  revela- 
tion, a  'tongue,'  an  interpretation?     Good,  but  let  every- 

27  thing  be  for  edification.  As  for  speaking  in  a  'tongue,'  let 
only  two  or  at  most  three  speak  at  one  meeting,  and  that 

28  in  turn.  Also,  let  someone  interpret;  if  there  is  no  inter- 
preter, let  the  speaker  keep  quiet  in  church  and  address 

29  himself  and  God.  Let  only  two  or  three  prophets  speak, 
while  the  rest  exercise  their  judgment  upon  what  is  said. 

30  Should  a  revelation  come  to  one  who  is  seated,  the  first 

31  speaker  must  be  quiet.  You  can  all  prophesy  quite  well, 
one  after  another,   so  as   to   let   all   learn   and   all  be  en- 

S2  couraged.    Prophets  can  control  their  own  prophetic  spirits, 
33  for    God    is    a    God    not    of    disorder    but    of    harmony.* 

37  If  anyone  considers  himself  a  prophet  or  gifted  with  the 
Spirit,  let  him  understand  that  what  I  write  to  you  is  a 

38  command  of  the  Lord.  Anyone  who  disregards  this  will  be 
himself  disregarded. 

39  To  sum  up.  my  brothers.  Set  your  heart  on  the  pro- 
phetic gift,  and  do  not  put  any  check  upon  speaking  in 

*  Transposing  vers.  336-36  to  the  end  of  the  chapter,  in  order  to 
preserve  the  sequence  of  thought.  There  is  some  early  textual  evidence 
for  reading  34-35  after  40. 


I.  CORINTHIANS  XV  265 

40  'tongues';  but  let  everything  be  done  decorously  and  in 
order. 

II  As  is  the  rule  in  all  churches  of  the  saints,  women  must 
keep  quiet  at  gatherings  of  the  church.  They  are  not 
allowed  to  speak;  they  must  take  a  subordinate  place,  as 

35  the  Law  enjoins.  If  they  want  any  information,  let  them 
ask  their  husbands  at  home;  it  is  disgraceful  for  a  woman 

36  to  speak  in  church.  You  challenge  this  rule?  Pray,  did 
God's  word  start  from  you?  Are  you  the  only  people  it  has 
reached  ? 

1  ^  Now,  brothers,  I  would  have  you  know  the  gospel  I 
1  ^  once   preached   to  you,  the  gospel  you   received,   the 

2  gospel  in  which  you  have  your  footing,  the  gospel  by  which 
you  are  saved — provided  you  adhere  to  my  statement  of  it — 
unless  indeed  your  faith  was  all  haphazard. 

3  First  and  foremost,  I  passed  on  to  you  what  I  had  myself 
received,    namely,    that    Christ    died   for    our   sins    as    the 

4  scriptures  had  said,  that  he  was  buried,  that  he  rose  on  the 

5  third  day  as  the  scriptures  had  said,  and  that  he  was  seen 

6  by  Cephas,  then  by  the  twelve;  after  that,  he  was  seen 
by  over  five   hundred   brothers  all  at  once,   the   majority 

7  of  whom  survive  to  this  day,  though  some  have  died;  after 

8  that,  he  was  seen  by  James,  then  by  all  the  apostles,  and 
finally  he  was  seen  by  myself,  by  this  so-called  'abortion' 

9  of  an  apostle.  For  I  am  the  very  least  of  the  apostles,  unfit 
to  bear  the  name  of  apostle,  since  I  persecuted  the  church 

10  of  God.  But  by  God's  grace  I  am  what  I  am.  The  grace 
he  showed  me  did  not  go  for  nothing;  no,  I  have  done  far 
more  work  than  all  of  them — though  it  was  not  I  but  God's 

11  grace  at  my  side.  At  any  rate,  whether  I  or  they  have 
done  most,  such  is  what  we  preach,  such  is  what  you  be- 
lieved. 

12  Now  if  we  preach  that  Christ  rose  from  the  dead,  how  can 
certain  individuals  among  you  assert  that  'there  is  no  such 

13  thing  as  a  resurrection  of  the  dead'?  If  'there  is  no  such 
thing  as  a  resurrection   from  the  dead,'  then  even  Christ 

14  did  not  rise;  and  if  Christ  did  not  rise,  then  our  preaching 
has  gone  for  nothing,  and  your  faith  has  gone  for  nothing 

15  too.  Besides,  we  are  detected  bearing  false  witness  to  God 
by  affirming  of  him  that  he  raised  Christ — whom  he  did  not 

16  raise,  if  after  all  dead  men  never  rise.     For  if  dead  men 

17  never  rise,  Christ  did  not  rise  either;  and  if  Christ  did  not 

18  rise,  your  faith  is  futile,  you  are  still  in  your  sins.  More 
than   that:    those   who   have   slept   the   sleep   of   death   in 

19  Christ  have  perished  after  all.  Ah,  if  in  this  life  we  have 
nothing  but  a  mere  hope  in  Christ,  we  are  of  all  men  to 
be  pitied  most! 


266  I.  CORINTHIANS  XV 

20  But  it  is  not  so!  Christ  did  rise  from  the  dead,  he  was 
the  first  to  be  reaped  of  those  who  sleep  in  death. 

21  For  since  death  came  by  man, 

by  man  came  also  resurrection  from  the  dead; 

22  as  all  die  in  Adam, 

so  shall  all  be  made  alive  in  Christ. 

23  But  each  in  his  own  division: — Christ  the  first  to  be 
reaped;  after  that,  all  who  belong  to  Christ,  at  his  arrival. 

24  Then  comes  the  end,  when  he  hands  over  his  royal  power 
to  God  the  Father,  after  putting  down  all  other  rulers,  all 

25  other  authorities  and  powers.    For  he  must  reign  until  all  his 

26  foes  are  put  under  his  feet.     (Death  is  the  last  foe  to  be 

27  put  down.)  For  God  has  put  everything  under  his  feet. 
When  it  is  said  that  everything  has  been  put  under  him, 
plainly  that  excludes  Him  who  put  everything  under  him; 

28  and  when  everything  is  put  under  him,  then  the  Son  him- 
self will  be  put  under  Him  who  put  everything  under  him, 
so  that  God  may  be  everything  to  everyone. 

29  Otherwise,  if  there  is  no  such  thing  as  a  resurrection, 
what  is  the  meaning  of  people  getting  baptized  on  behalf 
of  their  dead?    If  dead  men  do  not  rise  at  all,  why  do  peo- 

30  pie  get  baptized  on  their  behalf?  Yes,  and  why  am  I  my- 
self   in    danger    every   hour?      (Not    a    day   but    I    am    at 

31  death's  door!      I  swear  it  by  my  pride  in  you,  brothers, 

32  through  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord.)  What  would  it  avail  me 
that,  humanly  speaking,  I  'fought  with  wild  beasts'  at 
Ephesus?  If  dead  men  do  not  rise,  let  us  eat  and  drink, 
for  we  will  be  dead  to-morrow ! 

33  Make  no  mistake  about  this:    'bad  company  is  the  ruin 

34  of  good  character.'  Get  back  to  your  sober  senses  and 
avoid  sin,  for  some  of  you — and  I  say  this  to  your  shame 
— some  of  you  are  insensible  to  God. 

35  But,  someone  will  ask,  'how  do  the  dead  rise?    What  kind 

36  of  body  have  they  when  they  come?'    Foolish  man!     What 

37  you  sow  never  comes  to  life  unless  it  dies.  And  what  you 
sow  is  not  the  body  that  is  to  be;    it  is  a  mere  grain  of 

38  wheat,  for  example,  or  some  other  seed.  God  gives  it  a 
body  as  he  pleases,  gives  each  kind  of  seed  a  body  of  its 

39  own.  Flesh  is  not  all  the  same;  there  is  human  flesh, 
there  is  flesh  of  beasts,  flesh  of  birds,  and   flesh  of  fish. 

40  There  are  heavenly  bodies  and  also  earthly  bodies,  but  the 
splendour  of  the  heavenly  is  one  thing  and  the  splendour 

41  of  the  earthly  is  another.  There  is  a  splendour  of  the 
sun  and  a  splendour  of  the  moon  and  a  splendour  of  the 

42  stars — for  one  star  differs  from  another  in  splendour.  So 
with  the  resurrection  of  the  dead: 

what  is  sown  is  mortal, 
what  rises  is  immortal; 


I.  CORINTHIANS  XVI  267 

43  sown  inglorious, 

it  rises  in  glory; 
sown  in  weakness, 
it  rises  in  power; 

44  sown  an  animate  body, 

it  rises  a  spiritual  body. 
As  there  is  an  animate  body,  so  there  is  a  spiritual  body. 

45  Thus  it  is  written, 

'The  first  man,  Adam,  became  an  animate  "being, 
the  last  Adam  a  life-giving  Spirit'; 

46  but  the  animate,  not  the  spiritual,  comes  first, 

and  only  then  the  spiritual. 

47  Man  the  first  is  from  the  earth,  material; 

Man  the  second  is  from  heaven. 

48  As  Man  the  material  is,  so  are  the  material; 

as  Man  the  heavenly  is,  so  are  the  heavenly. 

49  Thus,  as  we  have  borne  the  likeness  of  material  Man, 

so  we  are  to  bear  *  the  likeness  of  the  heavenly  Man. 

50  I  tell  you  this,  my  brothers,  fiesh  and  blood  cannot  inherit 
the  Realm  of  God,  nor  can  the  perishing  inherit  the  im- 

51  perishable.     Here  is  a  secret  truth  for  you:   not  all  of  us 

52  are  to  die,  but  all  of  us  are  to  be  changed — changed  in  a 
moment,  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye,  at  the  last  trumpet- 
call.    The  trumpet  will  sound,  the  dead  will  rise  imperish- 

53  able,  and  we  shall  be  changed.  For  this  perishing  body 
must  be  invested  with  the  imperishable,  and  this  mortal 

54  body  invested  with  immortality;  and  when  this  mortal 
body  has  been  invested  with  immortality,!  then  the  saying 
of  Scripture  will  be  realized, 

Death  is  swallowed  up  in  victory. 

55  0  Death,  where  is  your  victory? 
0  Death,  ivhere  is  your  sting?  t 

57  The  victory  is  ours,  thank  God!     He  makes  it  ours  by  our 

58  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Well  then,  my  beloved  brothers,  hold 
your  ground,  immovable;  abound  in  work  for  the  Lord 
at  all  times,  for  you  may  be  sure  that  in  the  Lord  your 
labour  is  ne/er  thrown  away. 

1  o  With  regard  to  the  collection  for  the  saints,  you  must 

1  vJ  carry  out  the  same  arrangements  as  I  made  for  the 

2  churches  of  Galatia.    On  the  first  day  of  the  week  let  each 

*  Reading  (pop^crofiep  with  B  181  arm  aeth,  etc.,  instead  of  the  strongly 

supported  (popicraifiep. 

t  Omitting  rb  cpdaprbp  tovto  ivdjjo-tjraL  d(f>6ap<Tlav ^  Kal  with  N*  C*  and 
most  of  the  versions.  The  phrase  was  probably  inserted  for  the  sake  of 
completing  the  parallel. 

X  After  this  verse,  the  words  "  The  sting  of  sin  is  death,  and  the 
strength  of  sin  is  the  Law  "  have  been  added  either  as  a  gloss  by  some 
editor  or  perhaps  as  a  marginal  note  by  Paul  himself. 


268  I.  CORINTHIANS  XVI 

of  you  put  aside  a  sum  from  his  weekly  gains,  so  that  the 

3  money  may  not  have  to  be  collected  when  I  come.  On  my 
arrival  I  will  furnish  credentials  for  those  whom  you 
select,  and  send  them  to  convey  your  bounty  to  Jerusalem; 

4  if  the  sum  makes  it  worth  my  while  to  go  too,  they  shall 
accompany  me. 

5  I  mean  to  visit  you  after  my  tour  in  Macedonia,  for  I  am 

6  going  to  make  a  tour  through  Macedonia.  The  chances  are, 
I  shall  spend  some  time  with  you,  possibly  even  pass  the 
winter  with  you,  so  that  you  may  speed  me  forward  on 

7  any  journey  that  lies  before  me.  I  do  not  care  about  seeing 
you  at  this  moment  merely  in  the  by-going;  my  hope  is 
to  stay  among  you  for  some  time,  with  the  Lord's  permis- 

8  sion.      I   am   staying   on   for   the   present   at   Ephesus   till 

9  Pentecost,  for  I  have  wide  opportunities  here  for  active 
service — and  there  are  many  to  thwart  me. 

10  If  Timotheus  arrives,  see  that  you  make  him  feel  quite  at 
home  with  you;   he  carries  on  the  work  of  the  Lord  as  I 

11  do.  So  let  no  one  disparage  him.  When  he  leaves  to  re- 
join me,  speed  him  cordially  on  his  journey,  for  I  am  expect- 
ing him  along  with  the  other  brothers. 

12  As  for  our  brother  Apollos,  I  urged  him  to  accompany  the 
other  brothers  on  a  visit  to  you;  he  will  come  as  soon  as 
he  has  time,  but  for  the  present  it  is  not  the  will  of  God 
that  he  should  visit  you. 

13  Watch,  stand  firm  in  the  faith,  play  the  man,  be  strong! 

14  Let  all  you  do  be  done  in  love. 

15  I  ask  this  favour  of  you,  my  brothers.  The  household  of 
Stephanas,  you  know,  was  the  first  to  be  reaped  in  Achaia, 
and   they   have   laid   themselves    out   to   serve   the   saints. 

16  Well,  I  want  you  to  put  yourselves  under  people  like  that, 
under  everyone  who  sets  his  hand  to  the  work. 

17  I  am  glad  that  Stephanas  and  Fortunatus  and  Achaicus 
have   arrived,   for   they  have   made   up   for   your   absence. 

18  They  refresh  my  spirit  as  they  do  your  own.  You  should 
appreciate  men  like  that, 

19  The  churches  of  Asia  salute  you.  Aquila  and  Prisca, 
with   the   church   that   meets    in   their   house,   salute    you 

20  warmly  in  the  Lord.  All  the  brotherhood  salutes  you. 
Salute  one  another  with  a  holy  kiss. 

II       I  Paul  write  this  salutation  with  my  own  hand.     'If  any- 
one has  no  love  for  the  Lord,  God's  curse  be  on  him!    Maran 
23   atha!*     The  grace   of  the  Lord  Jesus  be  with  you.     My 
^^   love  be  with  you  all  in  Christ  Jesus.'     [Amen.] 

*  An  Aramaic  phrase,  probably  meaning  "  Lord,   come  "   (see  Rev. 
xxii.  20). 


THE  SECOND  EPISTLE  OF  PAXIL  THE  APOSTLE  TO  THE 

CORINTHIANS 

IPaul  an  apostle  of  Christ  Jesus  by  the  will  of  God,  and 
brother  Timotheus,  to  the  church  of  God  at  Corinth  as 
well  as  to  all  the  saints  throughout  the  whole  of  Achaia: 

2  grace  and  peace  to  you  from  God  our  Father  and  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ. 

3  Blessed  be  the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
the  Father  of  tender  mercies  and  the  God  of  all  comfort, 

4  who  comforts  me  in  all  my  distress,  so  that  I  am  able  to 
comfort  people  who  are  in  any  distress  by  the  comfort  with 

5  which  I  myself  am  comforted  by  God.  For  as  the  suffer- 
ings of  Christ  are  abundant  in  my  case,  so  my  comfort  is 

6  also  abundant  through  Christ.  If  I  am  in  distress,  it  is 
in  the  interests  of  your  comfort  and  salvation;  if  I  am  com- 
forted, it  is  in  the  interests  of  your  comfort,  which  is  effec- 
tive as  it  nerves  you  to  endure  the  same  sufferings  as  I 

7  suffer  myself.  Hence  my  hope  for  you  is  well-founded, 
since  I  know  that  as  you  share  the  sufferings  you  share 
the  comfort  also. 

8  Now  I  would  like  you  to  know  about  the  distress  which 
befell  me  in  Asia,  brothers.  I  was  crushed,  crushed  far 
more  than  I  could  stand,  so  much  so  that  I  despaired  even 

9  of  life;  in  fact  I  told  myself  it  was  the  sentence  of  death. 
But  that  was  to  make  me  rely  not  on  myself  but  on  the 

10  God  who  raises  the  dead;  he  rescued  me  from  so  terrible 
a  death,  he  rescues  still,  and  I  rely  upon  him  for  the  hope 

11  that  he  will  continue  to  rescue  me.  Let  me  have  your  co- 
operation in  prayer,  so  that  many  a  soul  may  render  thanks 
to  him  on  my  behalf  for  the  boon  which  many  have  been 
the  means  of  him  bestowing  on  myself. 

12  My  proud  boast  is  the  testimony  of  my  conscience  that 
holiness  and  godly  sincerity,  not  worldly  cunning  but  the 
grace  of  God,  have  marked  my  conduct  in  the  outside  world 

13  and  in  particular  my  relations  with  you.  You  don't  have 
to  read  between  the  lines  of  my  letters;  you  can  under- 
stand them.     Yes,   I   trust  you   will   understand  the  full 

14  meaning  of  my  letters  as  you  have  partly  understood  the 
meaning  of  my  life,  namely  that  I  am  your  source  of 
pride   (as  you  are  mine)   on  the  Day  of  our  Lord  Jesus. 

269 


270  11.  CORINTHIANS  II 

15  Relying  on  this  I  meant  to  visit  you  first,  to  let  you  have 

16  a  double  delight;  I  intended  to  take  you  on  my  way  to 
Macedonia,  and  to  visit  you  again  on  my  way  back  from 
Macedonia,   so   as   to  be   sped  by  you   on  my  journey  to 

17  Judaea.  Such  was  my  intention.  Now,  have  I  shown  my- 
self 'fickle'?  When  I  propose  some  plan,  do  I  propose  it 
in  a  worldly  way,   ready  to  mean  'no'  as  well  as  'yes'? 

18  By  the  good  faith  of  God,  my  word  to  you  was  not  'yes 

19  and  no';  for  the  Son  of  God,  Jesus  Christ,  who  was  pro- 
claimed among  you  by  us  (by  myself  and  Silvanus  and 
Timotheus)   was  not  'yes  and  no' — the  divine  'yes'  has  at 

20  last  sounded  in  him,  for  in  him  is  the  'yes'  that  afiirms 
all  the  promises  of  God.     Hence  it  is  through  him  that  we. 

21  affirm  our  'amen'  in  worship,  to  the  glory  of  God.  And  it 
is  God  who  confirms  me  along  with  you  in  Christ,  who  con- 

22  secrated  me,  who  stamped  me  with  his  seal  and  gave  me 

23  the  Spirit  as  a  pledge  in  my  heart.  I  call  God  to  witness 
against  my  soul,  it  was  to  spare  you  that  I  refrained  from 

24  revisiting  Corinth.  (Not  that  we  lord  it  over  your  faith — 
no,  we  co-operate  for  your  joy:   you  have  a  standing  of 

2  your  own  in  the  faith.)     I  decided  I  would  not  pay  you 
another  painful  visit.     For  if  I  pain  you,  then  who  is 
to   give  me   pleasure?     None   but   the   very  people   I   am 

3  paining!  So  the  very  reason  I  wrote  was  that  I  might 
not  come  only  to  be  pained  by  those  who  ought  to  give  me 
joy;  I  relied  on  you  all,  I  felt  sure  that  my  joy  would  be 

4  a  joy  for  every  one  of  you.  For  I  wrote  you  in  sore  distress 
and  misery  of  heart,  with  many  a  tear — not  to  pain  you 
but  to  convince  you  of  my  love,  my  special  love  for  you. 

5  If  a  certain  individual  has  been  causing  pain,  he  has  been 
causing  pain  not  so  much  to  me  as  to  all  of  you — at  any- 
rate  (for  I  am  not  going  to  overstate  the  case)  to  a  section 

6  of  you.     This  censure  from  the  majority  is  severe  enough 

7  for  the  individual  in  question,  so  that  instead  of  censuring 
you  should  now  forgive  him  and  comfort  him,  in  case  the 

8  man  is  overwhelmed  by  excessive  remorse.     So  I  beg  you 

9  to  reinstate  him  in  your  love.  For  my  aim  in  writing  was 
simply  to  test  you,  to  see  if  you  were  absolutely  obedient. 

10  If  you  forgive  the  man,  I  forgive  him  too;  anything  I  had 
to  forgive  him  has  been  forgiven  in  the  presence  of  Christ 

11  for  your  sakes,  in  case  Satan  should  take  advantage  of  our 
position — for  I  know  his  manoeuvres! 

12  Well,  when  I  reached  Troas  to  preach  the  gospel  of 
Christ,    though    I   had    a    wide   opportunity    in    the    Lord, 

13  my  spirit  could  not  rest,  because  I  did  not  find  Titus  my 
brother  there;    so   I   said  goodbye  and  went  off  to  Mace- 

14  donia.  Wherever  I  go,  thank  God,  he  makes  my  life  a  con- 
stant pageant  of  triumph  in  Christ,  diffusing  the  perfume 


11.  CORINTHIANS  III  271 

15  of  his  knowledge  everywhere  by  me.  I  live  for  God  as  the 
fragrance  of  Christ  breathed  alike  on  those  who  are  being 

16  saved  and  on  those  who  are  perishing,  to  the  one  a  deadly 
fragrance  that  makes  for  death,  to  the  other  a  vital  fra- 
grance that  makes  for  life.     And  who  is  qualified  for  this 

17  career?  I  am,  for  I  am  not  like  most,  adulterating  the 
word  of  God;  like  a  man  of  sincerity,  like  a  man  of  God, 
I  speak  the  word  in  Christ  before  the  very  presence  of  God. 


3  Am  I  beginning  again  to  'commend'  myself?    Do  I  need, 
like  some  people,  to  be  commended  by  written  certifi- 

2  cates  either  to  you  or  from  you?  Why,  you  are  my  certifi- 
cate yourselves,  written  on  my  heart,  recognized  and  read 

3  by  all  men;  you  make  it  obvious  that  you  are  a  letter  of 
Christ  which  I  have  been  employed  to  inscribe,  written  not 
with  ink  but  with  the  Spirit  of  the  living  God,  not  on 

4  taMets  of  stone  but  on  tablets  of  the  human  heart.  Such 
is  the  confidence  I  possess  through  Christ  in  my  service  of 

5  God.  It  is  not  that  I  am  personally  qualified  to  form 
any  judgment  by  myself;  my  qualifications  come  from  God, 

6  and  he  has  further  qualified  me  to  be  the  minister  of  a  new 
covenant — a   covenant   not   of  written  law  but   of   spirit; 

7  for  the  written  law  kills  but  the  Spirit  makes  alive.  Now 
if  the  administration  of  death  which  was  engraved  in 
letters  of  stone,  was  invested  with  glory — so  much  so,  that 
the  children  of  Israel  could  not  gaze  at  the  face  of  Moses 
on  account  of  the  dazzling  glory  that  was  fading  from  his 

8  face;  surely  the  administration  of  the  Spirit  must  be  in- 

9  vested  with  still  greater  glory.  If  there  was  glory  in  the 
administration   that   condemned,   then   the   administration 

10  that  acquits  abounds  far  more  in  glory  (indeed,  in  view 
of  the  transcendent  glory,  what  was  glorious  has  thus  no 

11  glory  at  all) ;  if  what  faded  had  its  glory,  then  what  lasts 

12  will  be  invested  with  far  greater  glory.     Such  being  my 

13  hope  then,  I  am  quite  frank  and  open — not  like  Moses, 
who  used  to  hang  a  veil  over  his  face  to  keep  the  children 
of  Israel  from  gazing  at  the  last  rays  of  a  fading  glory. 

14  Besides,  their  minds  were  dulled,  for  to  this  very  day, 
when  the  Old  Testament  is  read  aloud,  the  same  veil  hangs. 
Veiled  from  them  the  fact  that  the  glory  fades  in  Christ! 

15  Yes,  down  to  this  day,  whenever  Moses  is  read  aloud,  the 

16  veil  rests  on  their  heart;   though  whenever  they  turn  to 

17  the  Lord,  the  veil  is  removed.  (The  Lord  means  the  Spirit, 
and   wherever   the    Spirit   of   the   Lord   is,   there   is  open 

18  freedom.)  But  we  all  mirror  the  glory  of  the  Lord  with 
face  unveiled,  and  so  we  are  being  transformed  into  the 
same    likeness    as    himself,    passing    from    one    glory    to 


272  II.  CORINTHIANS  IV,  V 

4  another — for  this  comes  of  the  Lord  the  Spirit.     Hence, 
as  I  hold  this  ministry  by  God's  mercy  to  me,  I  never 

2  lose  heart  in  it;  I  disown  those  practices  which  very  shame 
conceals  from  view;  I  do  not  go  about  it  craftily;  I  do  not 
falsify  the  word  of  God;  I  state  the  truth  openly  and  so 
commend   myself   to   every   man's   conscience   before   God. 

3  Even  if  my  gospel  is  veiled,  it  is  only  veiled  in  the  case 

4  of  the  perishing;  there  the  god  of  this  world  has  blinded 
the  minds  of  unbelievers,  to  prevent  them  seeing  the  light 
thrown  by  the  gospel  of  the  glory  of  Christ,  who  is  the 

5  likeness  of  God.  (It  is  Christ  Jesus  as  Lord,  not  myself, 
that  I  proclaim;  I  am  simply  a  servant  of  yours  for  Jesus* 

6  sake.)  For  God  who  said,  "Light  shall  shine  out  of  dark- 
ness," has  shone  within  my  heart  to  illuminate  men  with 
the  knowledge  of  God's  glory  in  the  face  of  Christ. 

7  But  I  possess  this  treasure  in  a  frail  vessel  of  earth,  to 
show  that  the  transcending  power  belongs  to  God,  not  to 

8  myself;    on  every  side  I  am  harried  but  not  hemmed  in, 

9  perplexed  but  not  despairing,  persecuted  but  not  aban- 
doned, struck  down  but  not  destroyed — 

10  wherever  I  go,  I  am  being  killed  in  the  body  as  Jesus 

was, 
so  that  the  life  of  Jesus  may  come  out  in  my  body: 

11  every  day  of  my  life  I  am  being  given  over  to  death  for 

Jesus'  sake, 
so  that  the  life  of  Jesus  may  come  out  within  my 
mortal  flesh. 
Jl       In  me  then  death  is  active,  in  you  life.     But  since  our 
spirit  of  faith  is  the  same,  therefore — as  it  is  written  I 

14  'believed  and  so  I  spoke — I  too  believe  and  so  I  speak,  sure 
that  He  who  raised  the  Lord  Jesus  will  raise  me  too  with 

15  Jesus  and  set  me  at  your  side  in  his  presence.  It  is  all 
in  your  interests,  so  that  the  more  grace  abounds,  the  more 
thanksgiving  may  rise  and  redound  to  the  glory  of  God. 

16  Hence  I  never  lose  heart;  though  my  outward  man  decays, 

17  my  inner  man  is  renewed  day  after  day.  The  slight  trouble 
of  the  passing  hour  *  results  in  a  solid  glory  past  all  com- 

18  parison,  for  those  of  us  whose  eyes  are  on  the  unseen,  not 
on  the  seen;  for  the  seen  is  transient,  the  unseen  eternal. 

51  know  that  if  this  earthly  tent  of  mine  is  taken  down, 
I   get   a  home  from   God,  made   by   no   human   hands, 

2  eternal  in  the  heavens.  It  makes  me  sigh  indeed,  this 
yearning  to  be  under  the  cover  of  my  heavenly  habitation, 

3  since  I  am  sure  that  once  so  covered  I  shall  not  be  'naked' 

4  at  the  hour  of  death.  I  do  sigh  within  this  tent  of  mine 
with  heavy  anxiety — not  that  I  want  to  be  stripped,  no, 

*  Omitting  vfiwv. 


II.  CORINTHIANS  VI  273 

but  to  be  under  the  cover  of  the  other,  to  have  my  mortal 

5  element  absorbed  by  life.     I  am  prepared  for  this  change 
by  God,  who  has  given  me  the  Spirit  as  its  pledge  and 

6  instalment.    Come  what  may,  then,  I  am  confident;  I  know 
that  while  I  reside  in  the  body  I  am  away  from  the  Lord 

7  (for  I  have  to  lead  my  life  in  faith,  without  seeing  him) : 

8  and  in  this  confidence  I  would  fain  get  away  from  the  body 

9  and   reside   with    the   Lord.      Hence   also    I    am    eager   to 

10  satisfy  him,  whether  in  the  body  or  away  from  it;  for  we 
have  all  to  appear  without  disguise  before  the  tribunal 
of  Christ,  each  to  be  requited  for  what  he  has  done  with 
his  body,  well  or  ill. 

11  If  I  'appeal  to  the  interests  of  men,'  then,  it  is  with  the 
fear  of  the  Lord  before  my  mind.  What  I  am  is  plain  to 
God  without  disguise,  plain  also,  I  trust,  to  your  own  con- 

12  science.  This  is  not  'recommending  myself  to  you  again'; 
it  is  giving  you  an  incentive  to  be  proud  of  me,  which  you 
can  use  against  men  who  are  proud  of  externals  instead 

13  of  the  inward  reality.  'I  am  beside  myself,'  am  I?  Well, 
that    is   between   myself   and    God.      I    am    'sane,'    am    I? 

14  Well,  that  is  in  your  interests;  for  I  am  controlled  by  the 
love   of   Christ,   convinced  that   as   One   has   died  for   all, 

15  then  all  have  died,  and  that  he  died  for  all  in  order  to  have 
the  living  live  no  longer  for  themselves  but  for  him  who 

16  died  and  rose  for  them.  Once  convinced  of  this,  then,  I 
estimate  no  one  by  what  is  external;  even  though  I  once 
estimated  Christ  by  what  is  external,  I  no  longer  estimate 

17  him  thus.  There  is  a  new  creation  whenever  a  man  comes 
to  be  in  Christ;   what  is  old  is  gone,  the  new  has  come. 

18  It  is  all  the  doing  of  the  God  who  has  reconciled  me  to 
himself   through    Christ   and   has   permitted   me   to   be    a 

19  minister  of  his  reconciliation.  For  in  Christ  God  reconciled 
the  world  to  himself  instead  of  counting  men's  trespasses 
against  them;    and  he  entrusted  me  with  the  message  of 

20  his  reconciliation.  So  I  am  an  envoy  for  Christ,  God 
appealing  by  me,  as  it  were — be  reconciled  to  God,  I  entreat 

21  you  on  behalf  of  Christ.  For  our  sakes  He  made  him  to  be 
sin  who  himself  knew  nothing  of  sin,  so  that  in  him  we 

might  become  the  righteousness  of  God.  I  appeal  to 

y©u  too,  as  a  worker  with  God,  do  not  receive  the  grace 

2  of  God  in  vain.     (He  saith, 

/  have  heard  you  m  the  time  of  favour, 
and  helped  you  on  the  day  of  salvation. 
Well,  here  is  the  time  of  favour,  here  is  the  day  of  salva- 

3  tion.)     I  put  no  obstacle  in  the  path  of  any,  so  that  my 

4  ministry  may  not  be   discredited;    I   prove  myself   at  all 
points  a  true  minister  of  God,  by  great  endurance,  by  suf- 

5  fering,  by  troubles,  by  calamities,  by  lashes,  by  imprison- 


6 


274  II.  CORINTHIANS  VII 

6  ment;  mobbed,  toiling,  sleepless,  starving;  with  innocence, 
insight,  patience,  kindness,  the  holy  Spirit,  unaffected  love, 

7  true  words,  the  power  of  God;  with  the  weapons  of  integ- 

8  rity  for  attack  or  for  defence,  amid  honour  and  dishonour, 
amid  evil  report  and  good  report,  an  'impostor'  but  honest, 

9  'unknown'    but   well-known,    dying   but   here    I    am    alive, 

10  chastened  tut  not  killed,  grieved  but  always  glad,  a 
'pauper',  but  the  means  of  wealth  to  many,  without  a  penny 
but  possessed  of  all. 

11  O   Corinthians,   I   am   keeping  nothing  back  from  you; 

12  my   heart  is   wide   open   for   you.      'Restraint'? — that  lies 

13  with  you,  not  me.  A  fair  exchange  now,  as  the  children 
say!    Open  your  hearts  wide  to  me. 

14  [Keep  out  of  all  incongruous  ties  with  unbelievers. 

What  have  righteousness  and  iniquity  in  common, 
or  how  can  light  associate  with  darkness? 

15  What  harmony  can  there  be  between  Christ  and  Beliar, 

or  what  business  has  a  believer  with  an  unbeliever? 

16  What  compact  can  there  be  between  God's  temple  and 

idols? 
For  we  are  the  temple  of  the  living  God — as  God  has 
said, 
I  will  dwell  and  move  among  them, 

I  will  he  their  God  and  they  shall  he  my  people. 

17  Therefore  come  away  from  them, 

separate,  saith  the  Lord, 
touch  not  ichat  is  unclean; 
then  I  ivill  receive  you, 

18  I  will  he  a  Father  to  you, 

and  you  shall  be  my  sons  and  daughters, 
saith  the  Lord  almighty. 

7  As  these  great  promises  are  ours,  beloved,  let  us  cleanse 
ourselves  from  everything  that  contaminates  either  flesh 
or  spirit;  let  us  be  fully  consecrated  by  reverence  for  God].* 

2  Make  a  place  for  me  in  your  hearts;  I  have  wronged  no 
one,  ruined  no  one,  taken  advantage  of  no  one. 

3  I  am  not  saying  this  to  condemn  you.  Condemn  you? 
Why,  I  repeat,  you  are  in  my  very  heart,  and  you  will  be 

4  there  in  death  and  life  alike.  I  have  absolute  coi^dence 
in  you,  I  am  indeed  proud  of  you,  you  are  a  perfect  com- 
fort  to   me,    I    am    overflowing   with    delight,   for    all   the 

5  trouble  I  have  to  bear.  For  I  got  no  relief  from  the  strain 
of  things,  even  when  I  reached  Macedonia;  it  was  trouble 
at  every  turn,  wrangling  all  round  me,  fears  in  my  own 

6  mind.     But  the  God  who  comforts  the  dejected  comforted 

*  This  bracketed  paragraph  (vi.  14-vii.  1)  belongs  to  some  other  part 
of  Paul's  correspondence  with  the  Corinthian  church. 


II.  CORINTHIANS  VIII  275 

7  me  by  the  arrival  of  Titus.  Yes,  and  by  more  than  his 
arrival,  by  the  comfort  which  you  had  been  to  him;  for  he 
gave  me  such  a  report  of  how  you  longed  for  me,  how 
sorry  you  were,  and  how  eagerly  you  took  my  part,  that 

8  it  added  to  my  delight.  In  fact,  if  I  did  pain  you  by  that 
letter,  I  do  not  regret  it.  I  did  regret  it  when  I  discov- 
ered *   that  my  letter  had  pained  you  even  for  the  time 

9  being,  but  I  am  glad  now — not  glad  that  you  were  pained 
but  glad  that  your  pain  induced  you  to  repent.  For  you 
were  pained  as  God  meant  you  to  be  pained,  and  so  you  got 

10  no  harm  from  what  I  did;  the  pain  God  is  allowed  to  guide 
ends  in  a  saving  repentance  never  to  be  regretted,  whereas 

11  the  world's  pain  ends  in  death.  See  what  this  pain  divine 
has  done  for  you,  how  serious  it  has  made  you,  how  keen 
to  clear  yourselves,  how  indignant,  how  alarmed,  how  eager 
for  me,  how  determined,  how  relentless!     You  have  shown 

12  in  every  way  that  you  were  honest  in  the  business.  So 
my  letter  was  written  to  you,  not  on  account  of  the 
offender  nor  for  the  sake  of  the  injured  party,  but  in  order 
to  let  you  realize  before  God  how  seriously  you  do  care  for 
me. 

13  That  is  what  comforts  me. 

And  over  and  above  my  personal  comfort,  I  was  specially 
delighted  at  the  delight  of  Titus.     You  have  all  set  his 

14  mind  at  rest.  I  told  him  of  my  pride  in  you,  and  I  have 
not  been  disappointed.  No,  just  as  all  I  have  had  to  say 
to  you  has  been  true,  so  all  I  said  about  you  to  Titus,  all 

15  my  pride  in  you,  has  also  proved  true.  His  own  heart 
goes  out  to  you  all  the  more  when  he  remembers  how  you 
all  obeyed  him,  and  how  you  received  him  with  reverence 

16  and  trembling.     I  am  glad  to  have  full  confidence  in  you. 

8  Now,  brothers,  I  have  to  tell  you  about  the  grace  God 
has  given  to  the  churches  of  Macedonia.  Amid  a  severe 
ordeal  of  trouble,  their  overflowing  joy  and  their  deep 
poverty  together  have  poured  out  a  flood  of  rich  generosity; 

3  I  can  testify  that  up  to  their  means,  aye  and  beyond-  their 

4  means,  they  have  given — begging  me  of  their  own  accord, 
most  urgently,  for  the  favour  of  contributing  to  the  sup- 

5  port  of  the  saints.  They  have  done  more  than  I  expected; 
they  gave  themselves  to  the  Lord,  to  begin  with,  and  then 
(for  so  God  willed  it)  they  put  themselves  at  my  disposal. 

6  This  has  led  me  to  ask  Titus  to  complete  the  arrangements 
for  the  same  gracious  contribution  among  yourselves,  as  it 

7  was  he  who  started  it.     Now  then,  you  are  to  the  front  in 

*  Reading  ^Xirruv  with  the  Vulgate,  which  "  alone  has  preserved  the 
true  reading,  w  being  read  as  w"  (Hort). 


276  II.  CORINTHIANS  IX 

everything,  in  faith,  in  utterance,  in  knowledge,  in  all  zeal, 
and  in  love  for  us* — do  come  to  the  front  in  this  gracious 

8  enterprise  as  well.    I  am  not  issuing  any  orders,  only  using 
the  zeal  of  others  to  prove  how  sterling  your  own  love  is. 

9  (You  know  how  gracious  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  was;  rich 
though  he  was,  he  became  poor  for  the  sake  of  you,  that 

10  by  his  poverty  you  might  be  rich.)  But  I  will  tell  you 
what  I  think  about  it;  it  is  to  your  interest  to  go  on  with 
this  enterprise,  for  you  started  it  last  year,  you  were  the 
first  not  merely  to  do  anything  but  to  want  to  do  anything. 

11  Now,  carry  it  through,  so  that  your  readiness  to  take  it 
up  may  be  equalled  by  the  way  you  carry  it  through — so 

12  far  as  your  means  allow.  If  only  one  is  ready  to  give, 
according  to  his  means,  it  is  acceptable;   he  is  not  asked 

13  to  give  what  he  has  not  got.     This  does  not  mean  that 

14  other  people  are  to  be  relieved  and  you  to  suffer:  it  is  a 
matter  of  give  and  take;  at  the  present  moment  your  sur- 
plus goes  to  make  up  what  they  lack,  in  order  that  their 

15  surplus  may  go  to  make  up  what  you  lack.  Thus  it  is  to 
give  and  take — as  it  is  written. 

He  who  got  mucTi  had  nothing  over, 
and  lie  who  got  little  had  not  too  little. 

16  Thanks   be    to    God   who    has    inspired   Titus   with    an 

17  interest  in  you  equal  to  my  own;  he  has  indeed  responded 
to  my  request,  but  he  is  off  to  you  by  his  own  choice,  so 

18  keen  is  his  interest  in  you.  Along  with  him  I  am  sending 
that  brother  whose  services  to  the  gospel  are  praised  by  all 

19  the  churches;  besides,  he  has  been  appointed  by  the 
churches  to  travel  with  me  on  the  business  of  administer- 
ing this  fund  to  the  glory  of  the  Lord.     His  appointment 

20  has  my  full  consent,  for  I  want  to  take  precautions  against 
any  risk  of  suspicion  in  connection  with  the  administration 

21  of  this  charity;    I  aim  at  being  above  reproach  not  only 

22  from  God  but  also  from  men.  Along  with  them  I  am  also 
sending  our  brother:  I  have  had  ample  proof  of  his  keen 
interest  on  many  occasions,  and  it  is  specially  keen  on  this 

23  occasion,  as  he  has  absolute  confidence  in  you.  Titus  is 
my  colleague,  he  shares  my  work  for  you,  and  these 
brothers  of  mine  are  apostles  of  the  church,  a  credit  to 

24  Christ.  So  let  them  have  proof  of  how  you  can  love,  and 
of  my  reasons  for  being  proud  of  you;   it  will  be  a  proof 

read   by   the   churches.  Indeed   it   is   quite   super- 

fluous for  me  to  be  writing  to  you  about  this  chari- 
table service  to  the  saints;  I  know  how  willing  you  are, 
I  am  proud  of  it,  I  have  boasted  of  you  to  the  Macedonians: 


9 


*  Reading  i^  vfidp  iv  rj/xiv  with  fci{  C  D  G,  almost  all  the  evidence  of 
the  Latin  and  Syriac  versions,  etc. 


II.  CORINTHIANS  X  277 

"Achaia,"  I  tell  them,  "was  all  ready  last  year."    And  your 

3  zeal  has  been  a  stimulus  to  the  majority  of  them.  At  the 
same  time  I  am  sending  these  brothers  just  in  case  my 
pride  in  you  should  prove  an  empty  boast  in  this  particular 
instance;  I  want  you  to  be  "all  ready,"  as  I  have  been  tell- 

4  ing  them  that  you  would  be, .  in  case  any  Macedonians 
accompany  me  and  find  you  are  not  ready — which  would 
make  me  (not  to  speak  of  yourselves)   ashamed  of  having 

5  been  so  sure.  That  is  why  I  have  thought  it  necessary  to 
ask  these  brothers  to  go  on  in  advance  and  get  your 
promised  contribution  ready  in  good  time.  I  want  it  to  be 
forthcoming  as  a  generous  gift,  not  as  money  wrung  out 

6  of  you.  Mark  this:  he  who  sows  sparingly  will  reap  spar- 
ingly, and  he  who  sows  generously  will  reap  a  generous 

7  harvest.  Everyone  is  to  give  what  he  has  made  up  his 
mind  to  give;  there  is  to  be  no  grudging  or  compulsion 
about   it,   for   God  loves   the   giver   who   gives   cheerfully. 

8  God  is  able  to  bless  you  with  ample  means,  so  that  you 
may  always  have  quite  enough  for  any  emergency  of  your 

9  own  and  ample  besides  for  any  kind  act  to  others;  as  it  is 
written. 

He  scatters  his  gifts  to  the  poor  broadcast, 
his  charity  lasts  for  ever. 

10  He  who  furnishes  the  sower  with  seed  and  with  bread  to 
eat   will    supply   seed   for   you   and   multiply   it;    he   will 

11  increase  the  crop  of  your  charities — you  will  be  enriched 
on  all  hands,  so  that  you  can  be  generous  on  all  occasions, 
and  your  generosity,  of  which  I  am  the  agent,  will  make 

12  men  give  thanks  to  God;  for  the  service  rendered  by  this 
fund  does  more  than  supply  the  wants  of  the  saints,  it 

1Z  overflows  with  many  a  cry  of  thanks  to  God.  This  service 
shows  what  you  are,  it  makes  men  praise  God  for  the  way 
you  have  come  under  the  gospel  of  Christ  which  you  con- 
fess, and  for  the  generosity  of  your  contributions  to  them- 

14  selves  and  to  all;  they  are  drawn  to  you  and  pray  for  you, 
on  account  of  the  surpassing  grace  which  God  has  shown 

15  to  you.    Thanks  be  to  God  for  his  unspeakable  gift! 

■t  /^  I  APPEAL  to  you  myself  by  the  gentleness  and  consid- 
1  vJ  eration  of  Christ — the  Paul  who  is  'humble  enough  to 
your  face  when  he  is  with  you,  but  outspoken  enough  when 

2  he  gets  away  from  you.'  I  beg  of  you  that  when  I  do  come 
I  may  not  have  to  speak  out  and  be  peremptory;  but  my 
mind  is  made  up  to  tackle  certain  people  who  have  made 
up  their  minds  that  I  move  on  the  low  level  of  the  flesh. 

3  I  do  live  in  the  flesh,  but  I  do  not  make  war  as  the  flesh 

4  does;   the  weapons  of  my  warfare  are  not  weapons  of  the 

5  flesh,  but  divinely  strong  to  demolish  fortresses — I  demol- 


278  11.  CORINTHIANS  XI 

ish    theories   and   any   rampart   thrown   up   to    resist   the 
knowledge  of  God,  I  take  every  project  prisoner  to  make  it 

6  obey  Christ,  I  am  prepared  to  court-martial  anyone  who 
remains  insubordinate,  once  your  submission  is  complete. 

7  Look  at  this  obvious  fact.  So-and-so  is  perfectly  sure  he 
'belongs  to  Christ'?  Well  then,  let  him  understand,  on 
second  thoughts,  that  I  'belong  to  Christ'  as  much  as  he 

8  does.  Even  supposing  I  were  to  boast  somewhat  freely  of 
my  authority  (and  the  Lord  gave  it  to  me  for  building  you 
up,  not  for  demolishing  you),  I  would  feel  quite  justified. 

9  But  I  am  not  going  to  seem  as  if  I  were  'overawing  you 

10  with  a  letter,'  so  to  speak.  My  opponent  says,  'Paul's 
letters  are  weighty  and  telling,  but  his  personality  is  weak 

11  and  his  delivery  is  beneath  contempt.'  Let  him  under- 
stand that  I  will  act  when  I  arrive,  as  forcibly  as  I  express 

12  myself  by  letter  when  I  am  absent.  I  do  not  venture  to 
class  myself  or  to  compare  myself  with  certain  exalted 
individuals!  They  belong  to  the  class  of  self-praisers; 
while  I  limit  myself  to  my  own  sphere,*  I  compare  myself 

13  with  my  own  standard,  and  so  my  boasting  never  goes 
beyond  the  limit — it  is  determined  by  the  limits  of  the 
sphere  marked  out  for  me  by  God.     That  sphere  stretches 

14  to  include  yourselves;  I  am  not  overstepping  the  limit,  as 
if  you  lay  beyond  my  sphere;  I  was  the  very  first  to  reach 

15  you  with  the  gospel  of  Christ.  I  do  not  boast  beyond  my 
limits  in  a  sphere  where  other  men  have  done  the  work; 
my  hope  rather  is  that  the  growth  of  your  faith  will  allow 

16  me  to  enlarge  the  range  of  my  appointed  sphere  and  preach 
the  gospel  in  the  lands  that  lie  beyond  you,  instead  of 
boasting    within    another's    province    over    work    that    is 

17  already  done.     However,  let  him  iclio  boasts  boast  of  the 

18  Lord;  for  it  is  not  the  self-praiser  with  his  own  recom- 
mendations who  is  accepted,  it  is  the  man  whom  the  Lord 
recommends. 

11   I  WI3H  you  would  put  up  with  a  little  'folly'  from  me. 
1   Do  put  up  with  me,  for  I  feel  a  divine  jealousy  on 
your  behalf;    I  betrothed  you  as  a  chaste  maiden  to  pre- 

3  sent  you  to  your  one  husband  Christ,  but  I  am  afraid  of 
your  thoughts  getting  seduced  from  a  single  devotion  to 
Christ,  just  as  the  serpent  beguiled  Eve  with  his  cunning. 

4  You  put  up  with  it  all  right,  when  some  interloper  preaches 
a  second  Jesus  (not  the  Jesus  I  preached),  or  when  you  are 
treated  to  a  Spirit  different  from  the  Spirit  you  once 
received,  and  to  a  different  gospel  from  what  I  gave  you! 

5  Why  not  put  up  with  me?     I  hold  I  am  not  one  whit  in- 

*  Omitting  oii  (rvvioOaiv  '  rjfj.e'cs  5^  with  D*,  etc. 


II.  CORINTHIANS  XI  279 

6  ferior  to  these  precious  'apostles'!  I  am  no  speaker,  per- 
haps, but  knowledge  I  do  possess;  I  never  failed  to  make 
myself  intelligible  to  you. 

7  But  perhaps  I  did  wrong  in  taking  a  humble  place  that 
you  might  have  a  high  one — I  mean,  in  preaching  the  gos- 

8  pel  of  God  to  you  for  nothing!  I  made  a  levy  on  other 
churches,  I  took  pay  from  them  so  as  to  minister  to  you; 

9  even  when  I  ran  short,  during  my  stay  with  you,  I  was  no 
encumbrance  to  anybody,  for  the  brothers  who  came  from 
Macedonia  supplied  my  wants.  Thus  I  kept  myself,  as  I 
intend  to  keep  myself,  from  being  a  burden  to  you  in  any 

10  way.  By  the  truth  of  Christ  within  me,  I  am  going  to 
make  this  my  pride  and  boast  unchecked  throughout  the 

11  regions   of  Achaia!      Why?     Because   I   do  not  love  you? 

12  God  knows  I  do.  No,  I  intend  to  go  on  as  I  am  doing,  in 
order  to  checkmate  those  who  would  fain  make  out  that  in 
the  apostolate  of  which  they  boast  they  work  on  the  same 

13  terms  as  I  do.  'Apostles'?  They  are  spurious  apostles, 
false    workmen — they    are    masquerading    as    'apostles    of 

14  Christ.'    No  wonder  they  do,  for  Satan  himself  masquerades 

15  as  an  angel  of  light.  So  it  is  no  surprise  if  his  ministers 
also  masquerade  as  ministers  of  righteousness.  Their  doom 
will  answer  to  their  deeds. 

16  I  repeat,  no  one  is  to  think  me  a  fool;  but  even  so,  pray 
bear  with  me,  fool  as  I  am,  that  I  may  have  my  little  boast 

17  as  well  as  others!  (What  I  am  now  going  to  say  is  not 
inspired  by  the  Lord:   I  am  in  the  role  of  a  'fool,'  now,  on 

18  this  business  of  boasting.     Since  many  boast  on  the  score 

19  of  the  flesh,  I  will  do  the  same.)    You  put  up  with  fools  so 

20  readily,  you  who  know  so  much!  You  put  up  with  a  man 
who  assumes  control  of  your  souls,  with  a  man  who  spends 
your  money,  with  a  man  who  dupes  you,  with  a  man  who 

21  gives  himself  airs,  with  a  man  who  flies  in  your  face.  I  am 
quite  ashamed  to  say  I  was  not  equal  to  that  sort  of  thing! 
But  let  them  vaunt  as  they  please,   I  am  equal  to  them 

22  (mind,  this  is  the  role  of  a  fool!).  Are  they  Hebrews?  so 
am  I.   Israelites?  so  am  I.   Descended  from  Abraham?  so  am 

23  I.  Ministers  of  Christ?  yes  perhaps,  but  not  as  much  as  I  am 
(I  am  mad  to  talk  like  this! ),  with  all  my  labours,  with  all 
my  lashes,  with  all  my  time  in  prison — a  record  longer  far 

24  than  theirs.  I  have  been  often  at  the  point  of  death;  five 
times  have  I  got  forty  lashes   (all  but  one)  from  the  Jews, 

25  three  times  I  have  been  beaten  by  the  Romans,  once  pelted 
with  stones,  three  times  shipwrecked,  adrift  at  sea  for  a 

26  whole  night  and  day;  I  have  been  often  on  my  travels,  I 
have  been  in  danger  from  rivers  and  robbers,  in  danger  from 
Jews  and  Gentiles,  through  dangers  of  town  and  of  desert, 
through  dangers  on  the  sea,  through  dangers  among  false 


280  11.  CORINTHIANS  XII 

27  brothers — through  labour  and  hardship,  through  many  a 
sleepless  night,  through  hunger  and  thirst,  starving  many  a 

28  time,  cold  and  ill-clad,  and  all  the  rest  of  it.  And  then  there 
is  the  pressing  business  of  each  day,  the  care  of  all  the 

29  churches.  Who  is  weak,  and  I  do  not  feel  his  weakness? 
Whose  faith  is  hurt,  and  I  am  not  aglow  with  indignation? 

30  If  there  is  to  be  any  boasting,  I  will  boast  of  what  I  am 

31  weak  enough  to  suffer!  The  God  and  Father  of  the  Lord 
Jesus,  He  who  is  blessed  for  ever.  He  knows  I  am  telling  the 

32  truth!  (At  Damascus  the  ethnarch  of  king  Aretas  had 
patrols  out  in  the  city  of  the  Damascenes  to  arrest  me, 
but  I  was  lowered  in  a  basket  from  a  loophole  in  the  wall, 
1  o  and  so  managed  to  escape  his  clutches.)  There  is 
■l  ^  nothing  to  be  gained  by  this  sort  of  thing,  but  as  I  am 
obliged  to  boast,  I  will  go  on  to  visions  and  revelations  of 

2  the  Lord.  I  know  a  man  in  Christ  who  fourteen  years  ago 
was  caught  up  to  the  third  heaven.     In  the  body  or  out  of 

3  the  body?    That  I  do  not  know:  God  knows.    I  simply  know 

4  that  in  the  body  or  out  of  the  body  (God  knows  which)  this 
man  was  caught  up  to  paradise  and  heard  sacred  secrets 

5  which  no  human  lips  can  repeat.  Of  an  experience  like 
that  I  am  prepared  to  boast,  but  not  of  myself  personally 

6  — not  except  as  regards  my  weaknesses.  (If  I  did  care  to 
boast  of  other  things,  I  would  be  no  'fool,'  for  I  would  have 
a  true  tale  to  tell;  however,  I  abstain  from  that — I  want  no 
one  to  take  me  for  more  than  he  can  see  in  me  or  make 

7  out  from  me.)  My  wealth  of  visions  might  have  puffed 
me  up,  so  I  was  given  a  thorn  in  the  flesh,  an  angel  of 
Satan   to   rack   me    and   keep   me   from   being   puffed   up; 

8  three  times  over  I  prayed  the  Lord  to  make  it  leave  me, 

9  but  he  told  me,  "It  is  enough  for  you  to  have  my  grace: 
it  is  in  weakness  that  [my]  power  is  fully  felt."  So  I  am 
proud  to  boast  of  all  my  weakness,  and  thus  to  have  the 

10  power  of  Christ  resting  on  my  life.  It  makes  me  satisfied, 
for  Christ's  sake,  with  weakness,  insults,  trouble,  persecu- 
tion, and  calamity;  for  I  am  strong  just  when  I  am  weak. 

11  Now  this  is  playing  the  fool!  But  you  forced  me  to  it, 
instead  of  coming  forward  yourselves  and  vouching  for  me. 
That  was  what  I  deserved;  for,  'nobody'  as  I  am,  I  am  not 

12  one  whit  inferior  to  these  precious  'apostles.'  You  had  all 
the  miracles  that  mark  an  apostle  done  for  you  fully  and 

13  patiently — miracles,  wonders,  and  deeds  of  power.  Where 
were  you  inferior  to  the  rest  of  the  churches? — unless 
in  this,  that  your  apostle  did  not  choose  to  make  himself 
a  burden  to  you.    Pray  pardon  me  this  terrible  wrong! 

14  Here  am  I  all  ready  to  pay  you  my  third  visit.  And 
I  will  not  be  a  burden  to  you;  I  want  yourselves  and  not 
your  money.     Children  have  not  to  put  money  by  for  their 


11.  CORINTHIANS  XIII  281 

15  parents;  that  is  what  parents  do  for  their  children.  And 
for  your  souls  I  will  gladly  spend  my  all  and  be  spent 
myself.  Am  I  to  be  loved  the  less  because  I  love  you  more 
than  others? 

16  But  let  that  pass,  you  say;  I  was  not  a  burden  to  you, 
no,  but  I  was  clever  enough  to  dupe  you  with  my  tricks? 

17  Was  I?     Did  I  make  something  out  of  you  by  any  of  my 

18  messengers?  I  asked  Titus  to  go,  and  with  him  I  sent  our 
brother,  Titus  did  not  make  anything  out  of  you,  did  hG? 
And  did  not  I  act  in  the  same  spirit  as  he  did?  Did  I  not 
take  the  very  same  steps? 

19  You  think  all  this  time  I  am  defending  myself  to  you? 
No,  I  am  speaking  in  Christ  before  the  presence  of  God,  and 
speaking  every  word,  beloved,   in  order  to  build  you  up. 

20  For  I  am  afraid  I  may  perhaps  come  and  find  you  are  not 
what  I  could  wish,  while  you  may  find  I  am  not  what  you 
could  wish;  I  am  afraid  of  finding  quarrels,  jealousy, 
temper,    rivalry,    slanders,    gossiping,    arrogance,    and    dis- 

21  order — afraid  that  when  I  come  back  to  you,  my  God 
may  humiliate  me  before  you,  and  I  may  have  to  mourn 
for  many  who  sinned  some  time  ago  and  yet  have  never 
repented  of  the  impurity,  the  sexual  vice,  and  the  sensuality 
which  they  have  practised. 

-|  O  This  will  be  my  third  visit  to  you:  every  case  is  to  &e 
■■•  O  decided  on  the  evidence  of  tivo  or  of  three  witnesses, 

2  I  warned  you  already,  on  my  second  visit,  and  I  warn  you 
now  before  I  come,  both  you  who  sinned  some  time  ago 
and  the  rest  of  you  as  well,  that  I  will  spare  no  one  if  I 

3  come  back.  That  will  prove  to  you  that  I  am  indeed  a 
spokesman  of  Christ.    It  is  no  weak  Christ  you  have  to  do 

4  with,  but  a  Christ  of  power.  For  though  he  was  crucified 
in  his  weakness,  he  lives  by  the  power  of  God;  and  though 
I  am  weak  as  he  was  weak,  you  will  find  I  am  alive  as  he 

5  is  alive  by  the  power  of  God.  Put  yourselves  to  the  proof, 
not  me;  test  yourselves,  to  see  if  you  are  in  the  faith. 
Do  you  not  understand  that  Christ  Jesus  is  within  you? 

6  Otherwise  you  must  be  failures.     But  I  trust  you  will  find 

7  I  am  no  failure,  and  I  pray  to  God  that  you  may  not  go 
wrong — not  to  prove  i  am  a  success,  that  is  not  the  point, 
but  that  you  should  come  right,  even  if  I  seemed  to  be  a 

8  failure.     (Fail  or  succeed,  I  cannot  work  against  the  truth 

9  but  for  it! )      I  am  glad  to  be  weak  if  you  are   strong; 

10  mend  your  ways,  that  is  all  I  ask,  I  am  writing  thus  to 
you  in  absence,  so  that  when  I  do  come  I  may  not  have  to 
deal  sharply  with  you;  I  have  the  Lord's  authority  for 
that,  but  he  gave  it  to  me  for  building  you  up,  not  for 
demolishing  you. 

11  Now  brothers,  goodbye;  mend  your  ways,  listen  to  what 


282  II.  CORINTHIANS  XIII 

I  have  told  you,  live  in  harmony,  keep  the  peace;  then  the 
God  of  love  and  peace  will  be  with  you. 

12  Salute  one  another  with  a  holy  kiss.    All  the  saints  salute 
you. 

13  The  grace  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  the  love  of  God 
and  the  fellowship  of  the  holy  Spirit  be  with  you  all. 


THE  EPISTLE  OP  PAUL  TO  THE 

GALATIANS 

IPaul  an  apostle — not  appointed  by  men  nor  commis- 
sioned by  any  man  but  by  Jesus  Christ  and  God  the 

2  Father  who  raised  him  from  the  dead, — with  all  the 
brothers  who  are  beside  me,  to  the  churches  of  Galatia; 

3  grace  and  peace  to  you  from  God  our  Father  and  the  Lord 

4  Jesus  Christ  who  gave  himself  for  our  sins  to  rescue  us 
from  the  present  evil  world — ^by  the  will  of  our  God  and 

5  Father,  to  whom  be  glory  for  ever  and  ever:  Amen. 

6  I  am  astonished  you  are  hastily  shifting  like  this,  desert- 
ing Him  who  called  you  by  Christ's  grace  and  going  over 

7  to  another  gospel.  It  simply  means  that  certain  individuals 
are   unsettling   you;    they   want   to   distort   the   gospel   of 

8  Christ.  Now  even  though  it  were  myself  or  some  angel 
from  heaven,  whoever  preaches  a  gospel  that  contradicts 

9  the  gospel  I  preached  to  you,  God's  curse  be  on  him!  I 
have  said  it  before  and  I  now  repeat  it:  whoever  preaches 
a  gospel  to  you  that  contradicts  the  gospel  you  have  already 
received,  God's  curse  be  on  him! 

10  Now  is  that  'appealing  to  the  interests  of  men'  or  of 
God?  Trying  to  'satisfy  men'?  Why,  if  I  still  tried  to  give 
satisfaction  to  human  masters,  I  would  be  no  servant  of 

11  Christ.     No,  brothers,  I  tell  you  the  gospel  that  I  preach 

12  is  not  a  human  affair;  no  man  put  it  into  my  hands,  no 
man  taught  me  what  it  meant,  I  had  it  by  a  revelation 

13  of  Jesus  Christ.  You  know*  the  story  of  my  past  career 
in    Judaism;    you    know   how   furiously    I    persecuted   the 

14  church  of  God  and  harried  it,  and  how  I  outstripped  many 
of   my  own   age  and   race   in   my  special  ardour  for   the 

15  ancestral  traditions  of  my  house.  But  the  God  who  had 
set  me  apart  from  my  very  Mrth  called  me  by  his  grace, 

16  and  when  he  chose  to  reveal  his  Son  to  me,  that  I  might 
preach  him  to  the  Gentiles,  instead  of  consulting  with  any 

17  human  being,  instead  of  going  up  to  Jerusalem  to  see  those 
who  had  been  apostles  before  me,  I  went  off  at  once  to 

18  Arabia,  and  on  my  return  I  came  back  to  Damascus.  Then, 
after  three  years,  I  went  up  to  Jerusalem  to  make  the  ac- 

19  quaintance  of  Cephas.  I  stayed  a  fortnight  with  him.  I 
saw  no  other  apostle,  only  James  the  brother  of  the  Lord. 

283 


284  GALATIANS  II 

20  (I  am  writing  you  the  sheer  truth,  I  swear  it  before  God! ) 

21  Then  I  went  to  the  districts  of  Syria  and  of  Cilicia.     Per- 
^^   sonally  I  was  quite  unknown  to  the  Christian  churches  of 

23  Judaea;   they  merely  heard  that  'our  former  persecutor  is 

24  now  preaching  the  faith  he  once  harried,'  which  made  them 

2  praise  God  for  me.  Then,  fourteen  years  later,  I  went 

up   to   Jerusalem   again,   accompanied  by   Barnabas;    I 

2  took  Titus  with  me  also.  (It  was  in  consequence  of  a 
revelation  that  I  went  up  at  all.)  I  submitted  the  gospel 
I  am  in  the  habit  of  preaching  to  the  Gentiles,  submitting 
it  privately  to  the  authorities,  to  make  sure  that  my  course 

3  of  action  would  be  and  had  been  sound.  But  even  my  com- 
panion Titus,  Greek  though  he  was,  was  not  obliged  to  be 

4  circumcised.  There  were  traitors  of  false  brothers,  who 
had  crept  in  to  spy  out  the  freedom  we  enjoy  in  Christ 

5  Jesus;  they  did  aim  at  enslaving  us  again.  But  we  refused 
to  yield  for  a  single  instant  to  their  claims;  we  were  deter- 
mined that  the  truth  of  the  gospel  should  hold  good  for 

6  you.  Besides,  the  so-called  'authorities'  (it  makes  no  dif- 
ference to  me  what  their  status  used  to  be — God  pays  no 
regard  to  the  externals  of  men),  these  'authorities'  had  no 

7  additions  to  make  to  my  gospel.  On  the  contrary,  when 
they  saw  I  had  been  entrusted  with  the  gospel  for  the 
benefit  of  the  uncircumcised,  just  as  Peter  had  been  for  the 

8  circumcised  (for  He  who  equipped  Peter  to  be  an  apostle 
of  the  circumcised  equipped  me  as  well  for  the  uncir- 
cumcised),   and    when    they    recognized    the    grace    I    had 

9  been  given,  then  the  so-called  'pillars'  of  the  church, 
James  and  Cephas  and  John,  gave  myself  and  Barnabas 
the  right  hand  of  fellowship.     Our  sphere  was  to  be  the 

10  Gentiles,  theirs  the  circumcised.  Only,  we  were  to  'remem- 
ber the  poor.'    I  was  quite  eager  to  do  that  myself. 

11  But  when  Cephas  came  to  Antioch,  I  opposed  him  to  his 

12  face.  The  man  stood  self-condemned.  Before  certain 
emissaries  of  James  arrived,  he  ate  along  with  the  Gentile 
Christians;  but  when  they  arrived,  he  began  to  draw  back 
and  hold  aloof,  because  he  was  afraid  of  the  circumcision 

13  party.  The  rest  of  the  Jewish  Christians  also  played  false 
along  with  him,  so  much  so  that  even  Barnabas  was  carried 

14  away  by  their  false  play.  But  I  saw  they  were  swerving 
from  the  true  line  of  the  gospel;  so  I  said  to  Cephas  in 
presence  of  them  all,  "If  you  live  like  the  Gentiles  and  not 
like  the  Jews,  though  you  are  a  Jew  yourself,  why  do  you 

15  oblige   the  Gentiles   to  become  Jews?" — Vv'e   may  be  Jews 

16  by  birth  and  not  'Gentile  sinners,'  but  since  we  know  a 
man  is  justified  simply  by  faith  in  Jesus  Christ  and  not  t>v 
doing  what  the  Law  commands,  we  ourselves  have  believed 
in  Christ  Jesus  so  as  to  get  justified  by  faith  in  Christ  and 


GALATIANS  III  285 

not  by  doing  what  the  Law  commands — Vr  by  doing  what 

17  the  law  commands  no  person  shall  be  ^'tifiecl.  If  it  is 
discovered  that  in  our  quest  for  justificati  Vi  in  Christ  we 
are  'sinners'  as  well  as  the  Gentiles,  does  thlit  make  Christ 

18  an  agent  of  sin?    Never!    I  really  convict  myself  of  trans- 

19  gression  when  I  rebuild  what  I  destroyed.    For  through  the 

20  Law  I  died  to  the  Law  that  I  might  live  for  God;  I  have 
been  crucified  with  Christ,  and  it  is  no  longer  I  who  live, 
Christ  lives  in  me;  the  life  I  now  live  in  the  flesh  I  live  by 
faith  in  the  Son  of  God  who  loved  me  and  gave  himself  up 

21  for  me.  I  do  not  annul  God's  grace;  but  if  righteousness 
comes  by  way  of  the  Law,  then  indeed  Christ's  death  was 
useless. 

3  0  SENSELESS  Galatiaus,  who  has  bewitched  you — you  who 
had  Jesus  Christ  the  crucified  placarded  before  your  very 

2  eyes?  I  simply  want  to  ask  you  one  thing:  did  you  receive 
the  Spirit  by  doing  what  the  Law  commands  or  by  believ- 

3  ing  the  gospel  message?  Are  you  such  fools?  Did  you  begin 

4  with  the  spirit  only  to  end  now  with  the  flesh?  Have  you 
had  all  that  experience  for  nothing  (if  it  has  really  gone  for 

5  nothing)  ?  When  He  supplies  you  with  the  Spirit  and  works 
miracles  among  you,  is  it  because  you  do  what  the  Law 

6  commands  or  because  you  believe  the  gospel  message?  Why, 
it  is  as  with  Abraham,  he  had  faith  in  God  and  that  ivas 

7  counted  to  him  as  righteousness.  Well  then,  you  see  that  the 

8  real  sons  of  Abraham  are  those  who  rely  on  faith.  Besides, 
Scripture  anticipated  God's  justification  of  the  Gentiles 
by  faith  when  it  announced  the  gospel  beforehand  to 
Abraham  in  these  terms:   All  nations  shall  he  Messed  in 

9  thee.     So  that  those  who  rely  on  faith  are  blessed  along 

10  with  believing  Abraham.  Whereas  a  curse  rests  on  all 
who  relx  upon  obedience  to  the  Law;  for  it  is  written. 
Cursed  is  everyone  -who  does  not  hold  by  all  that  is  written 

11  in  the  booh  of  the  law,  to  perform  it.  And  because  no  one 
is  justified  on  the  score  of  the  Law  before  God    (plainly, 

12  the  just  shall  live  by  faith, — and  the  Law  is  not  based  on 
faith:  no,  he  tvho  performs  these  things  shall  live  by  them), 

13  Christ  ransomed  us  from  the  curse  of  the  Law  by  becom- 
ing accursed  for  us   (for  it  is  written.  Cursed  is  everyone 

14  who  hangs  on  a  gibbet),  that  the  blessing  of  Abraham 
might  reach  the  Gentiles  in  Christ  Jesus,  so  that  by  faith 
we  might  receive  the  promised  Spirit. 

15  To  take  an  illustration  from  human  life,  my  brothers. 
Once  a  man's  will  is  ratified,  no  one  else  annuls  it  or  adds 

16  a  codicil  to  it.  Now  the  Promises  were  made  to  Abraham 
and  to  his  offspring ;  it  is  not  said,  'and  to  your  offsprings' 
in  the  plural,  but  in  the  singular  and  to  your  offspring — 


286  GALATIANS  IV 

17  which  is  Chr'st.  My  point  is  this:  the  Law  which  arose 
four  hundref  t  and  thirty  years  later  does  not  repeal  a  will 

18  previously  jatified  by  God,  so  as  to  cancel  the  Promise.  If 
the  Inheritance  is  due  to  law,  it  ceases  to  be  due  to 
promise.     Now  it  was  by  a  promise  that  God  bestowed  it 

19  on  Abraham.  Then  what  about  the  Law?  Well,  it  was 
interpolated  for  the  purpose  of  producing  transgressions 
till  such  time  as  the  Offspring  arrived  to  whom  the  Promise 
was  made;    also,  it  was  transmitted  by   means   of  angels 

20  through  the  agency  of  an  intermediary   (an  intermediary 

21  implies  more  than  one  party,  but  God  is  one).  Then  the 
Law  is  contrary  to  God's  Promises?  Never!  Had  there 
been   any   law   which   had   the   power   of   producing   life, 

22  righteousness  would  really  have  been  due  to  law,  but 
Scripture  has  consigned  all  without  exception  to  the  cus- 
tody of  sin,  in  order  that  the  promise  due  to  faith  in 
Jesus    Christ   might   be   given    to    those    who    have    faith. 

23  Before  this  faith  came,  we  were  confined  by  the  Law  and 
kept  in  custody,  with  the  prospect  of  the  faith  that  was  to 

24  be  revealed;  the  Law  thus  held  us  as  wards  in  discipline, 
till  such  time  as  Christ  came,  that  we  might  be  justified 

25  by  faith.    But  faith  has  come,  and  we  are  wards  no  longer; 

26  you   are   all  sons   of   God  by  your  faith   in   Christ   Jesus 

27  (for  all  of  you  who  had  yourselves  baptized  into  Christ  have 

28  taken  on  the  character  of  Christ).  There  is  no  room  for 
Jew  or  Greek,  there  is  no  room  for  slave  or  freeman,  there 
is  no  room  for  male  and  female;  you  are  all  one  in  Christ 

29  Jesus.     Now  if  you  are  Christ's,  then  you  are  Abraham's 

4  offspring;  in  virtue  of  the  Promise,  you  are  heirs.  What 
I  mean  is  this.     As  long  as  an  heir  is  under  age,  there 
is  no  difference  between  him  and  a  servant,  though  he  is 

2  lord  of  all  the  property;  he  is  under  guardians  and  trustees 

3  till  the  time  fixed  by  his  father.  So  with  ug.  When  we 
were    under    age,    we    lived    under    the    thraldom    of    the 

4  Elemental  spirits  of  the  world;  but  when  the  time  had 
fully  expired,  God  sent  forth  his  Son,  born  of  a  woman, 

5  born  under  the  Law,  to  ransom  those  who  were  under  the 

6  Law,  that  we  might  get  our  sonship.  It  is  because  you  are 
sons  that  God  has  sent  forth  the  Spirit  of  his  Son  into 

7  your  hearts  crying  'Abba!  Father!'  So  you  are  servant 
no  longer  but  son,  and  as  son  you  are  also  heir,  all  owing 
to  God. 

8  In  those  days,  w^hen  you  were  ignorant  of  God,  you  were 

9  in  servitude  to  gods  who  are  really  no  gods  at  all;  but  now 
that  you  know  God — or  rather,  are  known  by  God — how 
is  it  you  are  turning  back  again  to  the  weakness  and 
poverty  of  the  Elemental  spirits?    Why  do  you  want  to  be 

10  enslaved  all  over  again  by  them?     You  observe  days  and 


GALATIANS  V  287 

11  months  and  festal  seasons  and  years!  Why,  you  make  me 
afraid  I  may  have  spent  my  labour  on  you  for  nothing! 

12  Do  take  my  line,  brothers,  I  beg  of  you — just  as  I  once 

13  took  yours.  I  have  no  complaint  against  you;  no,  although 
it  was  because  of  an  illness   (you  know)   that  I  preached 

14  the  gospel  to  you  on  my  former  visit,  and  though  my  flesh 
was  a  trial  to  you,  you  did  not  scoff  at  me  nor  spurn  me, 
you  welcomed  me  like  an  angel  of  God,  like  Christ  Jesus. 

15  You  congratulated  yourselves.  Now,  what  has  become  of 
all  that?  (I  can  bear  witness  that  you  would  have  torn 
out  your  very  eyes,   if  you  could,   and   given   me   them.) 

16  Am  I  your  enemy  to-day,  because  I  have  been  honest  with 

17  you?  These  men  make  much  of  you — yes,  but  for  dis- 
honest ends;  they  want  to  debar  you  from  us,  so  that  you 

18  may  make  much  of  them.  Now  it  is  fine  for  you  to  be  made 
much  of  honestly  and  all  the  time — not  simply  when  I  can 

19  be  with  you.  O  my  dear  children,  you  with  whom  I  am 
in   travail   over  again   till   Christ  be   formed   within   you, 

20  would  that  I  could  be  with  you  at  this  moment,  and  alter 

21  my  tone,  for  I  am  at  my  wits'  end  about  you!  Tell  me,  you 
who  are  keen  to  be  under  the  Law,  w^ill  j^ou  not  listen  to 

22  the  Law?  Surely  it  is  written  in  the  Law  that  Abraham 
had  two  sons,  one  by  the  slave-woman  and  one  by  the  free- 

23  woman;  but  while  the  son  of  the  slave-woman  was  born  by 
the   flesh,    the   son    of   the   free-woman    was   born   by   the 

24  promise.  Now  this  is  an  allegory.  The  women  are  two 
covenants.     One  comes  from  mount  Sinai,  bearing  children 

25  for  servitude;  that  is  Hagar,  for  mount  Sinai*  is  away  in 
Arabia.     She  corresponds  to  the  present  Jerusalem,  for  the 

26  latter   is   in   servitude   with   her   children.      But   the   J^eru- 

27  salem  on  high  is  free,  and  she  is  'our'  mother.  For  it  is 
written. 

Rejoice,  O  thou  barren  who  'dearest  not, 
dreak  into  joy,  thou  loho  travailest  not; 
for  the  children  of  the  desolate  woman  are  far  more  than 
of  the  married. 
II       Now  you  are  the  children  of  the  Promise,  brothers,  like 
Isaac;  but  just  as  in  the  old  days  the  son  born  by  the  flesh 
persecuted  the  son  born  by  the  Spirit,  so  it  is  still  to-day. 

30  However,  what  does  the  scripture  say?  Put  away  the  slave- 
woman  and  her  son,  for  the  son  of  the  slave-woman  shall 

31  not  be  heir  along  with  the  son  of  the  free-woman.     Hence 

5  we  are  children  of  no  slave-woman,  my  brothers,  but  of 
the   free-woman.t   with   the  freedom   for   which   Christ 
*  Omitting    Ayap  as  a  gloss,  with  the  Latin,   Sahidic,  and  Ethiopic 
versions,  t?  C  G,  Origen,  and  many  others. 

t  Whether  V  is  read  after  tt?   iXevdepiq,  or  instead  of  tt),  the  opening 
words  of  51  must  be  connected  with  the  closing  words  of  43i.     I  think 


288  GALATTANS  V 

set  us  free.     Make  a  firm  stand  then,  do  not  slip  into  any 
yoke  of  servitude. 

2  Here,  listen  to  Paul!     I  tell  you,  if  you  get  circumcised, 

3  Christ  will  be  no  use  to  you.     I  insist  on  this  again  to 
everyone  who  gets  circumcised,  that  he  is  obliged  to  carry 

4  out  the  whole  of  the  Law.    You  are  for  justification  by  the 
Law?     Then  you  are  done  with  Christ,  you  have  deserted 

o  grace,  for  it  is  by  faith  that  'we'  wait  in  the  Spirit  for  the 

6  righteousness  we  hope  for;    in  Christ  Jesus   circumcision 
fs  not  valid,  neither  is  uncircumcision,  but  only  faith  active 

7  in  love.     You   were   doing   splendidly.     Who   was   it   that 

8  prevented    you    from    obeying    the    Truth?      That    sort    of 

9  suasion   does   not   come   from   Him   who   called   you!       (A 

10  morsel  of  dough  will  leaven  the  whole  lump.)  I  feel  per- 
suaded in  the  Lord  that  you  will  not  go  wrong.  But  he  who 
unsettles  you  will  have  to  meet  his  doom,  no  matter  who 

11  he  is.  I  am  'still  preaching  circumcision  myself,'  am  I? 
Then,  brothers,  why  am  I  still  being  persecuted?  And  so 
the   stumbling-block   of   the   cross   has   lost   its   force,   for- 

12  sooth!  O  that  those  who  are  upsetting  you  would  get  them- 
selves castrated! 

13  Brothers,  you  were  called  to  be  free;  only,  do  not  make 
your  freedom  an  opening  for  the  flesh,  but  serve  one  an- 

14  other  in  love.     For  the  entire  Law  is  summed  up  in  one  word, 

15  in  You  must  love  your  neighbour  as  yourself  (whereas,  if 
you  snap  at  each  other  and  prey  upon  each  other,  take  care 

16  in  case  you  destroy  one  another).  I  mean,  lead  the  life  of 
the  Spirit:  then  you  will  never  satisfy  the  passions  of  the 

17  flesh.  For  the  passion  of  the  flesh  is  against  the  Spirit,  and 
the  passion  of  the  Spirit  against  the  flesh — the  two  are  at 

18  issue,  so  that  you  are  not  free  to  do  as  you  please.  If  you 
are  under  the  sway  of  the  Spirit,  you  are  not  under  the  Law. 

19  Now  the  deeds  of  the  flesh  are  quite  obvious,  such  as  sexual 

20  vice,  impurity,  sensuality,  idolatry,  magic,  quarrels,  dissen- 

21  sion,  jealousy,  temper,  rivalry,  factions,  party-spirit,  envy, 
[murder],  drinking  bouts,  revelry,  and  the  like;  I  tell  you 
beforehand  as  I  have  told  you  already,  that  people  who 
indulge  in  such  practices  will  never  inherit  the  Realm  of 

22  God.    But  the  harvest  of  the  Spirit  is  love,  joy,  peace,  good 

23  temper,  kindliness,  generosity,  fidelity,  gentleness,  self- 
control: — there  is  no  law  against  those  who  practice  such 

24  things.     Now  those  who  belong  to  Christ  *  have  crucified 

on  the  whole  that  this  interpretation  of  the  text,  which  is  advocated  by 
modern  editors  like  Lightfoot  and  Zahn,  has  the  best  claim  to  be  regarded 
as  authentic;  it  goes  back  to  Marcion  and  has  the  powerful  support  of 
the  Latin  version,  of  G,  of  Origen,  Ambrosiaster,  Jerome,  and  others. 

*  Omitting  'ItjctoC  with  D  G,  the  Latin,  Gothic,  and  Armenian  versions, 
Marcion,  Chrysostom,  and  others. 


6 


GALATIANS  VI  289 

25  the  flesh  with  its  emotions  and  passions.   As  we  live  by  the 

26  Spirit,  let  us  be  guided  by  the  Spirit;  let  us  have  no  vanity, 
no  provoking,  no  envy  of  one  another.  Even  if  anyone 
is  detected  in  some  trespass,  brothers,  you  are  spiritual, 

you  must  set  the  offender  right  in  a  spirit  of  gentleness; 
let  each  of  you  look  to  himself,  in  case  he  too  is  tempted. 

2  Bear  one  another's  burdens,  and  so  fulfil  the  law  of  Christ 

3  If  anyone  imagines  he  is  somebody,  he  is  deceiving  him- 

4  self,  for  he  is  nobody;  let  everyone  iDring  his  own  work  to 
the  test — then  he  will  have  something  to  boast  about  on 
his  own  account,  and  not  in  comparison  with  his  fellows. 

5  For  everyone  will  have  to  bear  his  own  load  of  responsi- 
bility. 

6  Those  who  are  taught  must  share  all  the  blessings   of 

7  life  with  those  who  teach  them  the  Word.  Make  no  mis- 
take— God  is  not  to  be  mocked — a  man  will  reap  just  what 

8  he  sows;  he  who  sows  for  his  flesh  will  reap  destruction 
from  the  flesh,  and  he  who  sows  for  the  Spirit  will  reap 

9  life  eternal  from  the  Spirit.  Never  let  us  grow  tired  of 
doing  what  is  right,  for  if  we  do  not  faint  we  shall  reap 

10  our  harvest  at  the  opportune  season.  So  then,  as  we  have 
opportunity,  let  us  do  good  to  all  men  and  in  particular 
to  the  household  of  the  faith. 

11  See  what  big  letters  I  make,  when  I  write  you  in  my  own 
hand! 

12  These  men  who  are  keen  upon  you  getting  circumcised 
are  just  men  who  want  to  make  a  grand  display  in  the 
flesh — it  is  simply  to  avoid  being  persecuted  for  the  cross 

13  of  Christ.  Why,  even  the  circumcision  party  do  not  observe 
the  Law  themselves!      They  merely  want  you  to  get  cir- 

14  cumcised,  so  as  to  boast  over  your  flesh!  But  no  boasting 
for  me,  none  except  in  the  cross  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
by  which  the  world  has  been  crucifled  to  me  and  I  crucified 

15  to  the  world.    For  what  counts  is  neither  circumcision  nor 

16  uncircumcision,  it  is  the  new  creation.  On  all  who  will  be 
guided  by  this  rule,  may  peace  and  mercy  rest,  even  wpon 
the  Israel  of  God. 

17  Let  no  one  interfere  with  me  after  this,  for  I  bear 
branded  on  my  body  the  owner's  stamp  of  Jesus. 

18  The  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  be  with  your  spirit, 
brothers.    Amen. 


THE  EPISTLE  OF  PAUL  THE  APOSTLE  TO  THE 

EPHESIANS 


1 


Paul,  by  the  will  of  God  an  apostle  of  Jesus  Christ,  to 
the  saints  who  are  faithful*  in  Jesus  Christ:  grace  and 

peace   to  you  from  God   our  Father  and   the  Lord  Jesus 

Christ. 

3  Blessed  be  the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
who  in  Christ  has  blessed  us  with  every  spiritual  blessing! 

4  He  chose  us  in  him  ere  the  world  was  founded,  to  be  con- 

5  secrated  and  unblemished  in  his  sight,  destining  us  in  love 

6  to  be  his  sons  through  Jesus  Christ.     Such  was  the  purpose 
of  his  will,  redounding  to  the  praise  of  his  glorious  grace 

7  bestowed   on   us   in   the   Beloved,   in   whom   we   enjoy   our 
redemption,  the  forgiveness  of  our  trespasses,  by  the  blood 

8  he  shed.     So  richly  has  God  lavished  his  grace  upon  us! 

9  He  has  granted  us  complete  insight  and  understanding  of 
the  open  secret  of  his  will,  showing  us  how   it  was  the 

10  purpose  of  his  design  so  to  order  it  in  the  fulness  of  the 
ages  that  all  things  in  heaven  and  earth  alike  should  be 

11  gathered  up  in  Christ — in  the  Christ  in  whom  we  have 
had  our  heritage  allotted  us  (as  was  decreed  in  the  design 
of  him  who  carries  out  everything  according  to  the  counsel 

12  of  his  will),  to  make  us  redound  to  the  praise  of  his  glory 

13  by  being  the  first  to  put  our  hope  in  Christ.  You  also 
have  heard  the  message  of  the  truth,  the  gospel  of  your 
salvation,  and  in  him  you  also  by  your  faith  have  been 
stamped   with   the   seal   of   the   long-promised   holy   Spirit 

14  which  is  the  pledge  and  instalment  of  our  common  heritage, 
that  we  may  obtain  our  divine  possession  and  so  redound 
to  the  praise  of  his  glory. 

15  Hence,  as  I  have  heard  of  your  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus 

16  and   your   love   for  all  the   saints,   I   never   cease   to   give 

17  thanks  for  you,  when  I  mention  you  in  my  prayers.  May 
the  God  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  glorious  Father,  grant 
you  the   Spirit  of  wisdom   and   revelation   for  the  knowl- 

18  edge  of  himself,  illuminating  the  eyes  of  your  heart  so  that 
you   can  understand  the  hope  to  which  He  calls   us,  the 

19  wealth    of    his    glorious    heritage    in    the    saints,    and    the 

*  Omitting  [iv  'E^^try]. 

290 


EPHESIANS  II  291 

surpassing   greatness    of   his   power   over   us   believers — a 

20  power  which  operates  with  the  strength  of  the  might  which 
he  exerted  in  raising  Christ  from  the  dead  and  seating  him 

21  at  his  right  hand  in  the  heavenly  sphere,  above  all  the 
angelic  Rulers,  Authorities,  Powers,  and  Lords,  above  every 
Name  that  is  to  be  named  not  only  in  this  age  but  in  the 

22  age  to  come — he  has  put  everything  under  his  feet  and  set 
him  as  head  over  everything  for  the  church,  the  church 

23  which  is  his   Body,   filled  by  him  who  fills  the   universe 

2  entirely.  And  as  with  us  so  with  you.  You  were  dead 
in  the  trespasses  and  sins  in  which  you  moved  as  you 
followed  the  course  of  this  world,  under  the  sway  of  the 
prince  of  the   air — the  spirit  which   is   at  present   active 

3  within  those  sons  of  disobedience  among  whom  all  of  us 
lived,  we  as  well  as  you,  when  we  obeyed  the  passions  of 
our  flesh,  carrying  out  the  dictates  of  the  flesh  and  its 
impulses,  when  we  were  objects  of  God's  anger  by  nature, 

4  like  the  rest  of  men.     But,  dead  in  trespasses  as  we  were, 

5  God  was  so  rich  in  mercy  that  for  his  great  love  to  us  he 
made  us  live  together  with  Christ  (it  is  by  grace  you  have 

6  been  saved);    together  with  Christ  he  raised   and  seated 

7  us  within  the  heavenly  sphere  in  Christ  Jesus,  to  display 
throughout  ages  to  come  his  surpassing  wealth  of  grace 

8  and  goodness  toward  us  in  Christ  Jesus.  For  it  is  by  grace 
you  have  been  saved,  as  you  had  faith;  it  is  not  your  doing 

9  but  God's  gift,  not  the  outcome  of  what  you  have  done — lest 

10  anyone  should  pride  himself  on  that;  God  has  made  us 
what  we  are,  creating  us  in  Christ  Jesus  for  the  good  deeds 
which  are  prepared  beforehand  by  God  as  our  sphere 
of  action. 

11  Remember,  then,  that  once  upon  a  time  you  Gentiles  in 
the  flesh,  who  are  called  'the  Uncircumcision'  by  that  so- 
called  'Circumcision'  which  is  itself  the  product  of  human 

12  hands  in  the  flesh — remember  you  were  irf  those  days  out- 
side Christ,  aliens  to  the  commonwealth  of  Israel,  and 
strangers  to  the  covenants  of  the  Promise,  devoid  of  hope 

13  and  God  within  the  world.  Whereas  now,  within  Christ 
Jesus,  you  who  once  were  far  away  have  been  brought  near 

14  by  the  blood  of  Christ.  For  he  is  our  peace,  he  who  has 
made  both  of  us  a  unity  and  destroyed  the  barrier  which 

15  kept  us  apart;  in  his  own  flesh  he  put  an  end  to  the  feud 
of  the  Law  with   its   code   of  commands,   so  as   to   make 

^peace  by  the  creation  of  a  new  Man  in  himself  out  of  both 

16*' parties,  so  as  himself  to  give  the  death-blow  to  that  feud 

by  reconciling  them  both  to  God  in  one  Body  through  the 

17  cross;  he  came  vnth  a  gospel  of  peace  for  those  far  aivay 

18  (that  is,  for  you)  and  for  those  who  were  near,  for  it  is 
through  him  that  we  both  enjoy  our  access  to  the  Father 


292  EPHESIANS  III 

19  in  one  Spirit.  Thus  you  are  strangers  and  foreigners  no 
longer,  you  share  the  membership  of  the  saints,  you  be- 

20  long  to  God's  own  household,  you  are  a  building  that  rests 
on  the  apostles  and  prophets  as  its  foundation,  with  Christ 

21  Jesus  as  the  cornerstone;  in  him  the  whole  structure  is 
welded  together  and  rises  into  a  sacred  temple  in  the  Lord, 
and  in  him  you  are  yourselves  built  into  this  to  form  a 
habitation  for  God  in  the  Spirit. 

3  For   this   reason   I   Paul,   I   whom   Jesus   has   made   a 
prisoner  for  the  sake  of  you  Gentiles — for  surely  you 
have  heard  how  the  grace  of  God  which  was  vouchsafed 

3  me  in  your  interests  has  ordered  it,  how  the  divine  secret 
was  disclosed  to  me  by  a  revelation   (if  you  read  what  I 

4  have  already  written  briefly  about  this,  you  can  understand 

5  my  insight  into  that  secret  of  Christ  which  was  not  dis- 
closed to  the  sons  of  men  in  other  generations  as  it  has 
now  been  revealed  to  his  sacred  apostles  and  prophets  by 

€  the  Spirit),  namely,  that  in  Christ  Jesus  the  Gentiles  are 
co-heirs,  companions,  and  co-partners  in  the  *  Promise.   Such 

7  is  the  gospel  which  I  was  called  to  serve  by  the  endowment 
of  God's  grace  which  was  vouchsafed  me,  by  the  energy 

8  of  his  power;  less  than  the  least  of  all  saints  as  I  am,  this 
grace  was  vouchsafed  me,  that  I  should  bring  the  Gentiles 

9  the  gospel  of  the  fathomless  wealth  of  Christ  and  enlighten 
all  men  upon  the  new  order  of  that  divine  secret  which 

10  God  the  Creator  of  all  concealed  from  eternity — intending 
to  let  the  full  sweep  of  the  divine  wisdom  be  disclosed  now 
by  the  church  to  the  angelic  Rulers  and  Authorities  in  the 

11  heavenly  sphere,  in  terms  of  the  eternal  purpose  which  he 

12  has  realized  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord,  through  whom,  as 
we  have  faith  in  him,  we  enjoy  our  confidence  of  free 
access. 

13  So  I  beg  of  you  not  to  lose  heart  over  what  I  am  suffer- 
ing on  your  behalf;  my  sufferings  are  an  honour  to  you. 

14  For  this  reason,  then,  I  kneel  before  the  Father  from 

15  whom  every  family   in  heaven  and   on   earth   derives   its 

16  name  and  nature,  praying  Him  out  of  the  wealth  of  his 
glory  to  grant  you  a  mighty  increase  of  strength  by  his 

17  Spirit  in  the  inner  man.    May  Christ  dwell  in  your  hearts 

18  as  you  have  faith!  May  you  be  so  fixed  and  founded  in 
love  that  you  can  grasp  with  all  the  saints  what  is  the 
meaning   of   'the   Breadth,'   'the   Length,'    'the    Depth'   and 

19  'the  Height,'  by  knowing  the  love  of  Christ  which  surpasses 
all  knowledge!     May  you  be  filled  with  the  entire  fulness 

20  of  God!     Now  to  him  who  by  the  action  of  his  power  within 

*  Omitting  [airov]. 


EPHESIANS  IV  293 

us  can  do  all  things,  aye  far  more  than  we  ever  ask  or 

21  imagine,   to   him   be   glory   in   the   church   and    in   Christ 

Jesus  throughout  all  generations  for  ever  and  ever:  Amen. 

4  As  the  Lord's  prisoner,  then,  I  beg  of  you  to  live   a 
life  worthy  of  your  calling,  with  perfect  modesty  and 
gentleness,  showing  forbearance  to  one  another  patiently, 

3  zealous  in  love  to  preserve  the  unity  of  the  Spirit  by  bind- 

4  ing  peace  upon  yourselves.    For  there  is  one  Body  and  one 
Spirit — as  you  were  called  for  the  one  hope  that  belongs 

I  to  your  call — one  Lord,  one  faith,  one  baptism,  one  God 
and  Father  of  all,  who  is  over  us  all,  who  pervades  us  all, 

7  who  is  within  us  all.     But  each  one  of  us  is  granted  his 
own  grace,  as  determined  by  the  full  measure  of  Christ's 

8  gift.    Thus  it  is  said, 

When  he  asceridecl  on  high  he  led  a  host  cavtive 
and  granted  gifts  to  men. 

9  What  does   he  ascended  mean,  except  that  he  first  de- 

10  scended  to  the  nether  regions  of  the  earth?  He  who 
descended  is  he  who  ascended  above  all  the  heavens  to  fill 

11  the  universe;  he  granted  some  men  to  be  apostles,  some  to 
be  prophets,  some  to  be  evangelists,  some  to  shepherd  and 

12  teach,  for  the  equipment  of  the  saints,  for  the  business 
of  the  ministry,  for  the  upbuilding  of  the  Body  of  Christ, 

13  till  we  should  all  attain  the  unity  of  the  faith  and  knowl- 
edge of  God's  Son,  reaching  maturity,  reaching  the  full 
measure  of  development  which  belongs  to  the  fulness  of 

14  Christ — instead  of  remaining  immature,  blown  from  our 
course  and  swayed  by  every  passing  wind  of  doctrine,  by 
the  adroitness  of  men  who  are  dexterous  in  devising  error; 

15  we  are  to  hold  by  the  truth,  and  by  our  love  to  grow  up 

16  wholly  into  Him.  For  He,  Christ,  is  the  head  and  under 
him,  as  the  entire  Body  is  welded  together  and  com- 
pacted by  every  joint  with  which  it  is  supplied,  the  due 
activity  of  each  part  enables  the  Body  to  grow  and  build 
itself  up  in  love. 

17  Now  in  the  Lord  I  insist  and  protest  that  you  must  give 

18  up  living  like  pagans;  for  their  purposes  are  futile,  their 
intelligence  is  darkened,  they  are  estranged  from  the  life 
of  God  by  the  ignorance  which  their  dulness  of  heart  has 

19  produced  in  them — men  who  have  recklessly  *  abandoned 
themselves  to  sensuality,  with  a  lust  for  the  business  of 

20  impurity  in  every  shape  and  form.     That  is  not  how  you 

21  have  understood  the  meaning  of  Christ  (for  it  is  Christ 
whom  you  have  been  taught,  it  is  in  Christ  that  you  have 

*  Reading  d7r7jX7ri/c6res  with  D  G,  the  Latin  version,  the  Syriac  Vulgate, 
Irenaeus,  Victorinus,  etc. 


294  EPHESIANS  V 

22  been  instructed — the  real  Christ  who  is  in  Jesus) ;  you 
must  lay  aside  the  old  nature  which  belonged  to  your 
former  course  of  life,  that  nature  which  crumbles  to  ruin 

23  under  the  passions  of  moral  deceit,  and  be  renewed  in  the 

24  spirit  of  your  mind,  putting  on  the  new  nature,  that  divine 
pattern  which  has  been  created  in  the  upright  and  pious 

25  character  of  the  Truth.  Lay  aside  falsehood,  then,  let 
each  tell  his  neighbour  the  truth,  for  we  are  members  one 

26  of  another.     Be  angry  hut  do  not  sin;  never  let  the  sun 

27  set    upon    your    exasperation,    give    the    devil    no    chance. 

28  Let  the  thief  steal  no  more;  rather  let  him  work  and  put  his 
hands  to  an  honest  task,  so  as  to  have  something  to  con- 

29  tribute  to  the  needy.  Let  no  bad  word  pass  your  lips, 
but  only  such  speech  as  is  good  for  edification,  as  occasion 
may  require,  words  that  are  gracious  and  a  means  of  grace 

30  to  those  who  hear  them.  And  do  not  vex  God's  holy  Spirit, 
by  whom  you  have  been  sealed  for  the  day  of  redemption. 

31  Drop  all  bitter  feeling  and  passion  and  anger  and  clamour- 

32  ing  and  insults,  togather  with  all  malice;  be  kind  to  each 
other,  be  tender-hearted,  be  generous  to  each  other  as  God 

5  has  been  generous  to  you  in  Christ.  Copy  God,  then, 
as  his  beloved  children,  and  lead  lives  of  love,  just  as 
Christ  loved  you  and  gave  himself  up  for  you  to  be  a 
fragrant  offering  and  sacrifice  to  God. 

3  Never  let  any  sexual  vice  or  impurity  or  lust  be  so  much 
as  mentioned  by  you — that  is  the  proper  course  for  saints 

4  to  take;  no,  nor  indecent,  silly,  or  scurrilous  talk — all  that 

5  is  improper.  Rather,  voice  your  thanks  to  God.  Be  sure  of 
this,  that  no  one  guilty  of  sexual  vice  or  impurity  or  lust 
(that   is,    an    idolater)    possesses    any    inheritance    in   the 

6  realm  of  Christ  and  God.  Let  no  one  deceive  you  with 
specious  arguments;   these  are  the  vices  that  bring  down 

7  God's  anger  on  the  sons  of  disobedience.    So  avoid  the  com- 

8  pany  of  such  men.  For  while  once  upon  a  time  you  were 
darkness,  now  in  the  Lord  you  are  light;   lead  the  life  of 

9  those  who  are  children  of  the  light   (for  the  fruit  of  light 

10  consists  in  all  that  is  good  and  right  and  true),  verifying 

11  what  pleases  the  Lord.    Have  nothing  to  do  with  the  fruit- 

12  less  enterprises  of  the  darkness;  rather  expose  them.  One 
is  indeed  ashamed  even  to  speak  about  what  such  men  do 

13  in  secret;  still,  whatever  the  light  exposes  becomes  illumi- 
nated— for  anything  that  is  illuminated  turns  into  light. 

14  Thus  it  is  said, 

'Wake  up,  O  sleeper,  and  rise  from  the  dead; 
so  Christ  will  shine  upon  you.' 

15  Be  strictly*  careful  then  about  the  life  you  lead;   act 

*  Reading  ixpi/ScDs  ttws  with  K*,  B,  Origen,  etc. 


EPHESIANS  VI  295 

16  like   sensible   men,   not   like   thoughtless;    make   the   very 

17  most  of  your  time,  for  these  are  evil  days.     So  do  not  be 

18  senseless,  but  understand  what  is  the  Lord's  will;  and  do 
not  get  drunk  with  wine — that  means  profligacy — ^but  be 

19  filled  with  the  Spirit,  converse  with  one  another  in  the  music 
of  psalms,   in  hymns,  and  in  songs  of  the  spiritual  life, 

20  praise  the  Lord  heartily  with  words  and  music,  and  render 
thanks  to  God  the  Father  in  the  name  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  at  all  times  and  for  all  things. 

21  Be  subject  to  one  another  out  of  reverence  for  Christ. 

22  Wives,  be  subject  to  your  husbands  as  to  the  Lord,  for  the 
2^   husband  is  the  head  of  the  wife  as  Christ  also  (though  he 

24  is  the  saviour  of  the  Body)  is  the  head  of  the  church;  as 
the  church  is  subject  to  Christ,  so  wives  are  to  be  subject 

25  to  their  husbands  in  every  respect.  Husbands,  love  your 
wives,  just  as  Christ  loved  the  church  and  gave  himself  up 

26  for  her  to  consecrate  her  by  cleansing  her  in  the  bath  of 

27  baptism  as  she  utters  her  confession,  in  order  to  have  the 
church  as  his  very  own,  standing  before  him  in  all  her 
glory,  with  never  a  spot  or  wrinkle  or  any  such  flaw,  but 

28  consecrated  and  unblemished.  So  ought  husbands  to  love 
their  wives — to  love  them  as  their  own  bodies  (he  who  loves 

29  his  wife  loves  himself).  For  no  one  ever  hates  his  flesh; 
no,  he  nourishes  and  cherishes  it   (just  as  Christ  does  the 

|j  church  for  we  are  members  of  his  Body).*  Therefore  shall 
a  man  leave  father  and  r.iother  and  cleave  to  his  wife,  and 

32  the  pair  shall  he  one  flesh.     This  is  a  profound  symbol,  I 

33  mean  as  regards  Christ  and  the  church.  However,  let  every 
man  of  you  love  his  wife  as  himself,  and  let  the  wife  rever- 

6ence  her  husband.         Children,  obey  your  parents  in  the 
Lord,  for  this  is  right;   honour  your  father  and  mother 

3  (it  is  the  first  command  with  a  promise),  that  it  may  be 

4  well  loith  you  and  that  you  may  live  long  on  earth.  As 
for  you  fathers,  do  not  exasperate  your  children,  but  bring 
them  up  in  the  discipline  and  on  the  ad7nonitions  of  the 
Lord. 

5  Servants,  be  obedient  to  those  who  are  your  masters  here 
below  with   reverence   and   trembling,   with   singleness   of 

6  heart  as  to  Christ  himself;  instead  of  merely  working  when 
their  eye  is  on  you,  like  those  who  court  human  favour, 

7  do  God's  will  from  the  heart  like  servants  of  Christ,  by 
rendering  service  with  goodwill  as  to  the  Lord  and  Master, 

8  not  to  men.  Be  sure  that  everyone,  slave  or  free,  will  be 
paid  back  by  the  Lord  and  Master  for  the  good  he  has  done, 

9  And  as  for  you  masters,  act  by  your  servants  in  the  same 

*  Omitting  [iK  rijs  aapKos  avTov  Kal  iK  tQv  dariojv  avTOv]  with  5<*,  A  B, 
Origen,  etc. 


296  EPHESIANS  VI 

way,  and  stop  threatening  them;  be  sure  that  they  and 
you  have  a  Lord  and  Master  in  heaven,  and  there  is  no 
partiality  about  him. 

10  To  conclude.     Be  strong  in  the  Lord  and  in  the  strength 

11  of  his  might;  put  on  God's  armour  so  as  to  be  able  to  stand 

12  against  the  stratagems  of  the  devil.  For  we  have  to  strug- 
gle, not  with  blood  and  flesh  but  with  the  angelic  Rulers, 
the  angelic  Authorities,  the  potentates  of  the  dark  present, 

13  the  spirit-forces  of  evil  in  the  heavenly  sphere.  So  take 
God's  armour,  that  you  may  be  able  to  make  a  stand  upon 
the  evil  day  and  hold  your  ground  by  overcoming  all  the 

14  foe.     Hold   your  ground,   tighten   the   helt   of  truth   ahout 

15  your  loins,  wear  integrity  as  your  coat  of  mail,  and  have 
your  feet  shod  with  the  stability  of  the  gospel  of  peace; 

16  above  all,  take  faith  as  your  shield,  to  enable  you  to  quench 

17  all  the  fire-tipped  darts  flung  by  the  evil  one,  put  on  salva- 
tion as  your  helmet,  and  take  the  Spirit  as  your  sword 

18  (that  is,  the  word  of  God),  praying  at  all  times  in  the 
Spirit  with  all  manner  of  prayer  and  entreaty — be  alive  to 
that,  attend  to  it  unceasingly,  interceding  on  behalf  of  all 

19  the  saints  and  on  my  behalf  also,  that  I  may  be  allowed 
to  speak  and  open  my  lips  in  order  to  expound  fully  and 

20  freely  that  open  secret  of  the  gospel  for  the  sake  of  which 
I  am  in  custody  as  its  envoy.  Pray  that  I  may  have  free- 
dom to  declare  it  as  I  should. 

21  Our  beloved  brother  Tychicus,  a  faithful  minister  in  the 
Lord,  will  give  you  all  information  about  me,  so  that  you 

22  may  know  how  I  am;  that  is  why  I  am  sending  him  to  you, 
to  let  you  know  how  I  am  and  to  encourage  your  hearts. 

23  Peace  and  love  with  faith  be  to  the  brothers  from  God 

24  the  Father  and  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Grace  be  with  all 
who  have  an  undying  love  for  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 


THE  EPISTLE  OF  PAUL  THE  APOSTLE  TO  THE 

PHILIPPIANS 

IPaul  and  Timotheus,  servants  of  Christ  Jesus,  to  all 
the  saints  in  Christ  Jesus  who  are  at  Philippi,  as  well 

2  as  to  the  bishops  and  deacons:  grace  and  peace  to  you  from 
God  our  Father  and  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

3  I    thank    my    God    for    all    your    remembrance    of    me; 

4  in  all  my  prayers  for  you  all  I  always  pray  with  a  sense  of 

5  joy  for  what  you  have  contributed  to  the  gospel  from  the 

6  very  first  day  down  to  this  moment;  of  this  I  am  confident, 
that  he  who  has  begun  the  good  work  in  you  will  go  on 

7  completing  it  until  the  day  of  Jesus  Christ.  It  is  only 
natural  for  me  to  be  thinking  of  you  all  in  this  way,  for 
alike  in  my  prison  and  as  I  defend  and  vindicate  the 
gospel,  I  bear  in  mind  how  you  all  share  with  me  in  the 

8  grace  divine.     God  is  my  witness  that  I  yearn  for  you  all 

9  with  the  affection  of  Christ  Jesus  himself!  And  it  is  my 
prayer  that  your  love  may  be  more  and  more  rich  in  knowl- 
edge and  all  manner  of  insight,  enabling  you  to  have  a 

10  sense  of  what  is  vital,  so  that  you  may  be  transparent  and 

11  no  harm  to  anyone  in  view  of  the  day  of  Christ,  your  life 
covered  with  that  harvest  of  righteousness  which  Jesus 
Christ  produces  to  the  glory  and  the  praise  of  God. 

12  I    would   have   you    understand,   my   brothers,    that  my 

13  affairs  have  really  tended  to  advance  the  gospel;  through- 
out the  whole  of  the  praetorian  guard  and  everywhere  else 
it  is  recognized  that  I  am  imprisoned  on  account  of  my  con- 

14  nexion  with  Christ,  and  my  imprisonment  has  given  the 
majority  of  the  brotherhood  greater  confidence  in  the  Lord 
to  venture  on  speaking  the  word  of   God  without  being 

15  afraid.     Some  of  them,  it  is  true,  are  actually  preaching 

16  Christ  from  envy  and  rivalry,  others  from  goodwill;  the 
latter  do  it  from  love  to  me,  knowing  that  I  am  set  here 

17  to  defend  the  gospel,  but  the  former  proclaim  Christ  for 
their  own  ends,  with  mixed  motives,  intending  to  annoy 

18  me  as  I  lie  in  prison.  What  does  it  matter?  Anyhow,  for 
ulterior  ends  or  honestly,  Christ  is  being  proclaimed,  and 
I  rejoice  over  that;  yes  and  I  will  rejoice  over  it. 

19  The  outcome  of  all  this,  I  know,  will  he  my  release,  as 
you  continue  to  pray  for  me,  and  as  I  am  provided  with 

297 


298  PHILIPPIANS  II 

20  the  Spirit  of  Jesus  Christ — ^my  eager  desire  and  hope  being 
that  I  may  never  feel  ashamed  but  that  now  as  ever  I 
may  do  honour  to  Christ  in  my  own  person  by  fearless 
courage.     Whether  that  means  life  or  death,  no  matter! 

21  As  life  means  Christ  to  me,  so  death  means  gain.   But  then, 

22  if  it  is  to  be  life  here  below,  that  means  fruitful  work, 

23  So — well,  I  cannot  tell  which  to  choose;  I  am  in  a  dilemma 
between  the  two.     My  strong  desire  is  to  depart  and  be 

24  with  Christ,  for  that  is  far  the  best.     But  for  your  sakes 

25  it  is  necessary  I  should  live  on  here  below.  I  am  sure 
it  is,  and  so  I  know  I  shall  remain  alive  and  serve  you  all 
by  forwarding  your  progress  and  fostering  the  joy  of  your 

26  faith.  Thus  you  will  have  ample  cause  to  glory  in  Christ 
Jesus  over  me — over  my  return  to  you. 

27  Only,  do  lead  a  life  that  is  worthy  of  the  gospel  of  Christ. 
Whether  I  come  and  see  you  or  only  hear  of  you  in 
absence,  let  me  know  you  are  standing  firm  in  a  common 
spirit,  fighting  side  by  side  like  one  man  for  the  faith  of 

28  the  gospel.  Never  be  scared  for  a  second  by  your  oppo- 
nents; your  fearlessness  is  a  clear  omen  of  ruin  for  them 

29  and  of  your  own  salvation — at  the  hands  of  God.  For  on 
behalf  of  Christ  you  have  the  favour  of  suffering  no  less 

30  than  of  believing  in  him,  by  waging  the  same  conflict  that, 

2  as  once  you  saw  and  now  you  hear,  I  wage  myself.     So 
by  all  the  stimulus  of  Christ,  by  every  incentive  of  love, 
*  by  all  your  participation  in  the  Spirit,  by  all  your  affec- 

2  tionate  tenderness,  I  pray  you  to  give  me  the  utter  joy  of 
knowing  you  are  living  in  harmony,  with  the  same  feel- 

3  ings  of  love,  with  one  heart  and  soul,   never  acting  for 
private  ends  or  from  vanity,  but  humbly  considering  each 

4  other  the  better  man,  and  each  with  an  eye  to  the  inter- 

5  ests  of  others  as  well  as  to  his  own.     Treat  one  another 
with  the  same  spirit  as  you  experience  in  Christ  Jesus. 

6  Though   he   was   divine   by   nature,  he   did  not   snatch   at 

7  equality    with    God    but    emptied    himself    by    taking    the 

8  nature  of  a  servant;   born  in  human  guise  and  appearing 
in  human  form,  he  humbly  stooped  in  his  obedience  even 

9  to  die,  and  to  die  upon  the  cross.     Therefore  God  raised 
him  high  and  conferred  on  him  a  Name  above  all  names, 

10  so  that  before  the  Name  of  Jesus  every  knee  should  bend 

11  in  heaven,  on  earth,  and  underneath  the  earth,  and  every 
tongue  confess  that  'Jesus  Christ  is  Lord,'  to  the  glory  of 
God  the  Father. 

12  Therefore,  my  beloved,  as  you  have  been  obedient  always 
and  not  simply  when  I  was  present,  so,  now  that  I  am 
absent,  work  all  the  more  strenuously  at  your  salvation 

13  with   reverence  and  trembling,  for  it  is  God  who  in  his 

14  goodwill  enables  you  to  will  this  and  to  achieve  it.    In  all 


PHILIPPIANS  III  299 

15  that  you  do,  avoid  grumbling  and  disputing,  so  as  to  be 
blameless  and  innocent,  faultless  children  of  God  in  a 
crooked  and  perverse  generation  where  you  shine  like  stars 

16  in  a  dark  world;  hold  fast  the  word  of  life,  so  that  I  can 
be  proud  of  you  on  the  Day  of  Christ,  because  I  have  not 

17  run  or  worked  for  nothing.  Even  if  my  life-blood  has  to 
be  poured  as  a  libation  on  the  sacred  sacrifice  of  faith  you 

18  are  offering  to  God,  I  rejoice,  I  congratulate  you  all — and 
you  in  turn  must  rejoice  and  congratulate  me. 

19  1  hope  in  the  Lord  Jesus  to  send  you  Timotheus  before 

20  long,  that  I  may  be  heartened  by  news  of  you.     I  have  no 

21  one  like  him,  for  genuine  interest  in  your  welfare.    Every- 

22  body  is  selfish,  instead  of  caring  for  Jesus  Christ.  But 
you  know  how  he  has  stood  the  test,  how  he  has  served 

23  with  me  in  the  gospel,  like  a  son  helping  his  father.  I 
hope  to  send  him  then,  as  soon  as  ever  I  see  how  it  will  go 

24  with  me — though  I  am  confident  in  the  Lord  that  I  shall 

25  be  coming  myself  before  long.  As  for  Epaphroditus,  how- 
ever, my  brother,  my  fellow-worker,  my  fellow-soldier,  and 

■   your  messenger  to  meet  my  wants,  I  think  it  necessary 

26  to  send  you  him  at  once,  for  he  has  been  yearning  for  you 
all.     He  has  been  greatly  concerned  because  you  heard  he 

27  was  ill.  And  he  was  ill,  nearly  dead  with  illness.  But 
God  had  mercy  on  him,  and  not  only  on  him  but  on  me, 

28  to  save  me  from  having  one  sorrow  upon  another.  So  I 
am  specially  eager  to  send  him,  that  you  may  be  glad  when 
you    see   him    again,    and   thus   my   own   anxiety   may   be 

29  lightened.     Give  him  a  welcome  in  the  Lord,  then,  with 

30  your  hearts  full  of  joy.  Value  men  like  that,  for  he  nearly 
died  in  the  service  of  Christ  by  risking  his  life  to  make 
up  for  the  services  you  were  not  here  to  render  me. 

3  Well  then,  my  brothers,   rejoice  in  the  Lord.     I   am 
repeating  this  word  'rejoice'  in  my  letter,  but  that  does 

2  not  tire  me  and  it  is  the  safe  course  for  you. — Beware  of 
these    dogs,    these    wicked    workmen,    the    incision-party! 

3  We  are  the  true  Circumcision,  we  who  worship  God  in 
spirit,  we  who  pride  ourselves  on  Christ  Jesus,  we  who  rely 

4  upon  no  outward  privilege.  Though  I  could  rely  on  out- 
ward privilege,  if  I  chose.     Whoever  thinks  he  can  rely  on 

5  that,  I  can  outdo  him.  I  was  circumcised  on  the  eighth 
day  after  birth;  I  belonged  to  the  race  of  Israel,  to  the 
tribe    of    Benjamin;    I    was    the    Hebrew    son    of    Hebrew 

6  parents,  a  Pharisee  as  regards  the  Law,  in  point  of  ardour 
a  persecutor   of  the  church,   immaculate  by  the   standard 

7  of    legal    righteousness.      But    for    Christ's    sake    I    have 

8  learned  to  count  my  former  gains  a  loss;  indeed  I  count 
anything  a  loss,  compared  to  the  supreme  value  of  know- 


300  PHILIPPIANS  IV 

ing  Christ  Jesus  my  Lord.  For  his  sake  I  have  lost  every- 
thing (I  count  it  all  the  veriest  refuse)  in  order  to  gain 
9  Christ  and  be  found  at  death  in  him,  possessing  no  legal 
righteousness  of  my  own  but  the  righteousness  of 
faith    in    Christ,    the    divine    righteousness    that    rests   on 

10  faith.  I  would  know  him  in  the  power  of  his  resurrec- 
tion    and    the    fellowship    of    his     sufferings,    with    my 

11  nature  transformed  to  die  as  he  died,  to  see  if  I  too  can 

12  attain  the  resurrection  from  the  dead.  Not  that  I  have 
already  attained  this  or  am  already  perfect,  but  I  press 
forward  to  appropriate  it,  because  I  have  been  appropriated 

13  myself  by  Christ  Jesus.  Brothers,  I  for  one  do  not  con- 
sider myself  to  have  appropriated  this;  my  one  thought 
is,  by  forgetting  what  lies  behind  me  and  straining  to  what 

14  lies  before  me,  to  press  on  to  the  goal  for  the  prize  of  God's 

15  high  call  in  Christ  Jesus.  For  all  those  of  our  number 
who  are  mature,  this  must  be  the  point  of  view;  God  will 
reveal  that  to  any  of  you  who  look  at  things  differently. 

16  Only,  we  must  let  our  steps  be  guided  by  such  truth  as 
we  have  attained. 

17  Copy  me,  brothers,  one  and  all  of  you,  and  notice  those 

18  who  live  by  the  example  you  get  from  me.  For  many — as 
I  have  often  told  you  and  tell  you  now  with  tears — many 

19  live  as  enemies  of  the  cross  of  Christ.  Destruction  is  their 
fate,  the  belly  is  their  god,  they  glory  in  their  shame,  these 

20  men  of  earthly  mind!  But  we  are  a  colony  of  heaven, 
and  we  wait  for  the  Saviour  who  comes  from  heaven,  the 

21  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  will  transform  the  body  that 
belongs  to  our  low  estate  till  it  resembles  the  body  of  his 
Glory,  by  the  same  power  that  enables  him  to  make  every- 

4  thing  subject   to   himself.      So   then,   my   brothers,   for 
whom  I  cherish  love  and  longing,  my  joy  and  crown, 
this  is  how  you  must  stand  firm  in  the  Lord,  0  my  beloved. 

2  I  entreat  Euodia  and  I  entreat  Syntyche  to  agree  in  the 

3  Lord.  And  you,  my  true  comrade,  lend  a  hand  to  these 
women,  I  beg  of  you;  they  have  fought  at  my  side  in  the 
active  service  of  the  gospel,  along  with  Clement  and  the 
rest  of  my  fellow-workers,  whose  names  are  in  t?ie  hook 
of  life. 

4  Rejoice  in  the  Lord  always.     I  will  say  it  again,  'rejoice.' 

5  Let  your  forbearance  be  known  to  everyone;   the  Lord  is 

6  at  hand.  Never  be  anxious,  but  always  make  your  requests 
known   to   God   in   prayer   and   supplication   with   thanks- 

7  giving;  so  shall  God's  peace,  that  surpasses  all  our  dreams, 
keep  guard  over  your  hearts  and  minds  in  Christ  Jesus. 

8  Finalli^,  brothers,  keep  in  mind  whatever  is  true,  what- 
ever is  worthy,  whatever  is'  just,  whatever  is  pure,  what- 
ever is  attractive,  whatever  is  high-toned,  all  excellence, 


PHILIPPIANS  IV  301 

9  all  merit.  Practise  also  what  you  have  learned  and 
received  from  me,  what  you  heard  me  say  and  what  you 
saw  me  do;  then  the  God  of  peace  will  be  with  you. 

10  It  was  a  great  joy  to  me  in  the  Lord  that  your  care 
for  me  could  revive  again;  for  what  you  lacked  was  never 

11  the  care  but  the  chance  of  showing  it.  Not  that  I  com- 
plain   of    want,    for    I    have    learned    how    to    be    content 

12  wherever  I  am.  I  know  how  to  live  humbly;  I  also  know 
how  to  live  in  prosperity.  I  have  been  initiated  into  the 
secret  for  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  life,  for  plenty  and 

13  for  hunger,  for  prosperity  and  for  privations.     In  him  who 

14  strengthens  me   I   am  able  for  anything.     But  you  were 

15  kind  enough  to  take  your  share  in  my  trouble.  You 
Philippians  are  well  aware  that  in  the  early  days  of  the 
gospel,  when  I  had  left  Macedonia,  no  church  but  your- 

16  selves  had  any  financial  dealings  with  me;  even  when  i 
was  in  Thessalonica,  you  sent  money  more  than  once  for 

17  my  needs.  It  is  not  the  money  I  am  anxious  for;  what  I 
am  anxious  for  is  the   interest  that  accumulates  in  this 

18  way  to  your  divine  credit!  Your  debt  to  me  is  fully  paid 
and  more  than  paid!  I  am  amply  supplied  with  what  you 
have  sent  by  Epaphroditus,  a  fragrant  perfume,  the  sort 

19  of  sacrifice  that  God  approves  and  welcomes.  My  God  will 
supply  all  your  own  needs  from  his  wealth  in  Glory  in 

20  Christ  Jesus.  Glory  to  God  our  Father  for  ever  and  ever: 
Amen. 

21  Salute  every  saint  in  Christ  Jesus.     The  brothers  beside 

22  me  salute  you.  All  the  saints  salute  you,  especially  the 
Imperial  slaves. 

23  The  grace  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  be  with  your  spirit. 
Amen. 


THE  EPISTLE  OF  PAUL  THE  APOSTLE  TO  THE 

COLOSSIANS 


1 


Paul,   by   God's   will   an   apostle   of   Christ  Jesus,   and 
brother    Timotheus,    to    the    consecrated    and    faithful 

brothers  in  Christ  at  Colossae:  grace  and  peace  to  you  from 

God  our  Father. 

3  We  always  thank  the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus 

4  Christ  when  we  pray  for  you,  since  we  have  heard  of  your 
faith   in   Christ   Jesus   ani   your   love   for   all   the   saints, 

5  due  to  the  hope  which  is  laid  up  for  you  in  heaven.  You 
heard  of  this  hope  originally  in  the  message  of  the  Truth, 

6  in  that  gospel  which  has  reached  you  as  it  spreads  over  all 
the  world  with  fruit  and  increase.  Such  has  been  your 
life  from  the  day  you  learned  to  know  what  God's  grace 

7  really  is.  You  got  that  lesson  from  our  beloved  fellow- 
servant  Epaphras,  a  minister  of  Christ  who  is  faithful  to 

8  your  interests;   and  it  is  he  who  has  informed  us  of  your 

9  love  in  the  Spirit.  Hence,  from  the  day  we  heard  of  it, 
we  have  never  ceased  to  pray  for  you,  asking  God  to  fill 
you  with  the  knowledge  of  his  will  in  all  spiritual  wisdom 

10  and  insight,  so  that  you  may  lead  a  life  that  is  worthy 
of  the  Lord  and  give  him  entire  satisfaction.  May  you  be 
fruitful  and  increase  in  the  doing  of  all  good,  as  you  thus 

11  know  God!  May  his  glorious  might  nerve  you  with  full 
power  to  endure   and   to  be   patient  cheerfully,   whatever 

12  comes,  thanking  the  Father  who  has  qualified  us  to  share 

13  the  lot  of  the  saints  in  the  Light,  rescuing  us  from  the 
power  of  the  Darkness  and  transferring  us  to  the  realm  of 

14  his  beloved  Son!      In  him  we  enjoy  our  redemption,  that 

15  is,  the  forgiveness  of  sins.     He  is  the  likeness  of  the  un- 

16  seen  God,  born  first  before  all  the  creation — for  it  was  by 
him  that  all  things  were  created  both  in  heaven  and  on 
earth,  both  the  seen  and  the  unseen,  including  Thrones, 
angelic  Lords,  celestial  Powers  and  Rulers;  all  things  have 

17  been  created  by  him  and  for  him;   he  is  prior  to  all,  and 

18  all  coheres  in  him.  Also,  he  is  the  head  of  the  Body,  that 
is,  of  the  church,  in  virtue  of  his  primacy  as  the  first  to 
be  born  from  the  dead — that  gives  him  -preeminence  over 

19  all.     For  it  was  in  him  that  the  divine  Fulness  willed  to 

20  settle  without  limit,  and  by  him  it  willed  to  reconcile  in 

302 


COLOSSIANS  II  303 

his  own  person  all  on  earth  and  in  heaven  alike,  in  a  peace 

21  made  by  the  blood  of  his  cross.  Once  you  were  estranged 
yourselves,  your  hearts  hostile  to  him  in  evildoing;  but 
now  he  has  reconciled  you  by  dying  in  his  mortal  body, 

22  so  as  to  set  you  consecrated   and  unblemished  and  irre- 

23  proachable  in  his  presence — that  is,  if  you  adhere  to  the 
foundations  and  stability  of  the  faith,  instead  of  moving 
away  from  the  hope  you  have  learned  in  the  gospel,  that 
gospel  which  has  been  preached  to  every  creature  under 
heaven,  and  of  which  I  Paul  was  made  a  minister. 

24  I  am  suffering  now  on  your  behalf,  but  I  rejoice  in  that; 
I  would  make  up  the  full  sum  of  all  that  Christ  has  to 
suffer  in  my  person  on  behalf  of  the  church,  his  Body; 

25  for  I  am  a  minister  of  the  church  by  the  divine  commission 
which   has  been   granted   me   in   your   interests,   to   make 

26  a  full  presentation  of  God's  message — of  that  open  secret 
which,  though  concealed  from  ages  and  generations  of  old, 

27  has  now  been  disclosed  to  the  saints  of  God.  It  is  His 
will  that  they  should  understand  the  glorious  wealth  which 
this  secret  holds  for  the  Gentiles,  in  the  fact  of  Christ's 

28  presence  among  you  as  your  hope  of  glory.  This  is  the 
Christ  we  proclaim;  we  train  everyone  and  teach  everyone 
the  full  scope  of  this  knowledge,  in  order  to  set  everyone 

29  before  God  mature  in  Christ;  I  labour  for  that  end,  striving 
for  it  with  the  divine  energy  which  is  a  power  within  me. 

2  Striving?     Yes,    I    want   you    to    understand    my    deep 
concern  for  you  and  for  those  at  Laodicea,  for  all  who 

2  have  never  seen  my  face.  May  their  hearts  be  encouraged! 
May  they  learn  the  meaning  of  love!  May  they  have  all  the 
wealth  of  conviction  that  comes  from  insight!  May  they 
learn    to   know   that   open   secret   of    God,   the   Father    of 

3  Christ,  in  whom  all  tUe  treasures  of  wisdom  and  knowledge 

4  lie  hidden!     I  say  this  to  prevent  you  from  being  deluded 

5  by  plausible  arguments  from  anybody;  for  although  I  am 
absent  in  body  I  am  with  you  in  spirit,  and  it  is  a  joy  to 
note  your  steadiness  and  the  solid  front  of  your  faith  in 
Christ. 

6  Since  you  have  had  the  messiah,  even  Jesus  the  Lord, 

7  brought  to  you,  lead  your  life  in  him,  fixed  and  founded 
in  him,  confirmed  in  the  faith  as  you  have  been  taught  it, 

8  and  overfiowing  with  thankfulness  to  God.  Beware  of  any- 
one getting  hold  of  you  by  means  of  a  theosophy  which  is 
specious  make-believe,  on  the  lines  of  human  tradition,  cor- 
responding to  the  Elemental  spirits  of  the  world  and  not 

9  to  Christ.     It  is  in  Christ  that  the  entire  Fulness  of  deity 

10  has  settled  bodily,  it  is  in  him  that  you  reach  your  full 
life,  and  he  is  the  Head  of  every  angelic  Ruler  and  Power; 

11  in  him  you  have  been  circumcised  with  no  material  circum- 


304  COLOSSIANS  III 

cision  that  cuts  flesh  from  the  body,  but  with  Christ's  own 

12  circumcision,  when  you  were  buried  with  him  in  your 
baptism  and  thereby  raised  with  him  as  you  believed   in 

13  the  power  of  the  God  who  raised  him  from  the  dead.  For 
though  you  were  dead  in  your  trespasses,  your  flesh  uncir- 
cumcised,  He  made  you  live  with  Christ,  He  forgave  us  all 

14  our  trespasses.  He  cancelled  the  regulations  that  stood 
against   us — all   these    obligations    he    set   aside    when    he 

15  nailed  them  to  the  cross,  when  he  cut  away  the  angelic 
Rulers    and    Powers    from    us,    exposing    them    to    all    the 

16  world  and  triumphing  over  them  in  the  cross.  So  let  no 
one  take  you  to  task  on  questions  of  eating  and  drinking 
or  in  connexion  with  the  observance  of  festivals  or  new 

17  moons  or  sabbaths.    All  that  is  the  mere  shadow  of  what  is 

18  to  be;  the  substance  belongs  to  Christ.  Let  no  one  lay  down 
rules  for  you  as  he  pleases,  with  regard  to  fasting  and  the 
cult  of  angels,  presuming  on  his  visions  and  inflated  by  his 

19  sensuous  notions,  instead  of  keeping  in  touch  with  that 
Head  under  whom  the  entire  Body,  supplied  with  joints 
and  sinews  and  thus  compacted,  grows  with  growth  divine. 

20  As  you  died  with  Christ  to  the  Elemental  spirits  of  the 
world,  why  live  as  if  you  still  belonged  to  the  world?    Why 

21  submit   to    rules   and    regulations    like    "Hands    off   this!" 

22  "Taste  not  that!"  "Touch  not  this!" — referring  to  things 
that  perish  by  being  used?    These  rules  are  determined  by 

23  human  precepts  and  tenets;  they  get  the  name  of  'wisdom' 
with  their  self-imposed  devotions,  with  their  fasting,  with 
their  rigorous  discipline  of  the  body,  but  they  are  of  no 
value,  they  simply  pamper  the  flesh! 

3  Since  then  you  have  been  raised  with  Christ,  aim  at 
^         what  is  above,  where  Christ  is,  seated  at  the  right  hand  of 

3  God;  mind  what  is  above,  not  what  is  on  earth,  for  you  died 

4  and  your  life  is  hidden  with  Christ  in  God.     When  Christ, 
who  is  our  life,  appears,  then  you  will  appear  with  him 

5  in  glory.    So  put  to  death  those  members  that  are  on  earth: 
sexual  vice,  impurity,  appetite,  evil  desire,  and  lust  (which 

6  is  idolatry),  things  that  bring  down  the  anger  of  God  on 

7  the  sons  of  disobedience.     Once  you  moved  among  them, 

8  when  you  lived  in  them;   but  off  with  them  all  now,  off 

9  with  anger,  rage,  malice,  slander,  foul  talk!     Tell  no  lies 
to  one  another;  you  have  stripped  off  the  old  nature  with 

10  its  practices,  and  put  on  the  new  nature  which  is  renewed 
in  the  likeness  of  its  Creator  for  the  knowledge  of  him. 

11  In  it  there  is  no  room  for  Greek  and  Jew,  circumcised  and 
uncircumcised,  barbarian,  Scythian,  slave,  or  free  man; 
Christ  is  everything  and  everywhere. 

12  As  God's  own  chosen,  then,  as  consecrated  and  beloved, 
be  clothed  with  compassion,   kindliness,   humility,  gentle- 


COLOSSIANS  IV  305 

13  ness,  and  good  temper — forbear  and  forgive  each  other  in 
any  case  of  complaint;  as  Christ  forgave  you,  so  must  you 

14  forgive.     And  above  all  you  must  be  loving,  for  love  is  the 

15  link  of  the  perfect  life.  Also,  let  the  peace  of  Christ  be 
supreme  within  your  hearts — that  is  why  you  have  been 
called  as  members   of  the   one   Body.     And   you  must  be 

16  thankful.  Let  the  inspiration  of  Christ  dwell  in  your 
midst  with  all  its  wealth  of  wisdom;  teach  and  train  one 
another  with  the  music  of  psalms,  with"  hymns,  and  songs 
of    the    spiritual    life;    praise    God    with    thankful    hearts. 

17  Indeed,  whatever  you  say  or  do,  let  everything  be  done  in 
dependence  on  the  Lord  Jesus,  giving  thanks  in  his  name 
to  God  the  Father. 

18  Wives,  be  subject  to  your  husbands;  that  is  your  proper 

19  duty  in  the  Lord.     Husbands,  love  your  wives,  do  not  be 

20  harsh    to    them.      Children,    obey    your    parents    at    every 

21  point,  for  this  pleases  the  Lord  right  well.    Fathers,  avoid 

22  irritating  your  children,  in  case  they  get  dispirited.  Serv- 
ants, obey  your  masters  here  below  at  every  point;  do  not 
work  simply  when  their  eye  is  on  you,  like  those  who 
court  human  favour,  but  serve  them  with  a  single  heart 

23  out  of  reverence  for  your  Lord  and  Master.  Whatever  be 
your  task,  work  at  it  heartily,  as  servants  of  the  Lord  and 

24  not  of  men;  remember,  you  will  receive  from  the  Lord  the 
inheritance  which  is  your  due;  serve  Christ  your  Lord  and 

25  Master,  for  the  wrongdoer  will  be  paid  back  for  his  wrong- 

4  doing — there  will  be  no  favour  shown.     Masters,  treat 
your  servants  justly  and  fairly;   remember  you  have  a 
Master  of  your  own  in  heaven. 

2  Attend  to  your  prayers,  maintain  your  zest  for  prayer 

3  by  thanksgiving;  and  pray  for  me  as  well,  that  God  may 
give  me  an  opening  for  the  word,  to  speak  of  the  open 

4  secret  of  Christ  for  which  I  am  in  custody.     Pray  that  I 

5  may  unfold  it  as  I  should.  Let  Christian  wisdom  rule 
your  behaviour  to  the  outside  world;  make  the  very  most 

6  of  your  time;  let  your  talk  always  have  a  saving  salt  of 
grace  about  it,  and  learn  how  to  answer  any  question  put 
to  you. 

7  Tychicus,  that  beloved  brother  and  faithful  minister  and 
fellow-servant  in  the  Lord,  will  give  you  all  information 

8  about  me.  The  reason  why  I  am  sending  him  to  you  is 
that  he  may  ascertain  how  you  are,  and  encourage  your 

9  hearts.  He  is  accompanied  by  that  faithful  and  beloved 
brother  Onesimus,  who  is  one  of  yourselves.  They  will  in- 
form you  of  all  that  goes  on  here. 

10  Aristarchus  my  fellow-prisoner  salutes  you;  so  does  Mark, 
the    cousin    of   Barnabas,    about   whom    you    have   got    in- 

11  structions  (if  he  comes  to  you,  give  him  a  welcome) ;  and 


306  COLOSSIANS  IV 

so  does  Jesus  who  is  called  Justus.     These  are  the  only 
comrades  in  the  work  of  God's  realm,  belonging  to  the  cir- 

12  cumcised,  who  have  been  any  comfort  to  me.  Epaphras, 
who  is  one  of  yourselves,  salutes  you — a  servant  of  Christ 
Jesus  who  is  always  earnest  in  prayer  for  you,  that  you 
may  stand  firm  like  mature  and  convinced  Christians,  what- 

13  ever  be  the  will  of  God  for  you.  I  can  testify  to  his  exer- 
tions on  your  behalf  and  on  behalf  of  those  at  Laodicea 

14  and  Hierapolis.'    Our  beloved  Luke,  the  doctor,  salutes  you; 

15  so    does    Demas.      Salute    the    brothers    at    Laodicea,    also 

16  Nympha  and  the  church  which  meets  at  her  house.  And 
when  this  letter  has  been  read  to  you,  see  that  it  is  also 
read  in  the  church  of  the  Laodiceans;   also,  see  that  you 

17  read  the  letter  that  reaches  j'^ou  from  Laodicea.  And  tell 
Archippus,  'Attend  fo  the  ministry  you  have  received  in 
the  Lord;  see  that  you  fulfil  it.' 

18  This  salutation  is  in  my  own  hand,  from  Paul.  'Remem- 
ber I  am  in  prison.    Grace  be  with  you.' 


THE  FIRST  EPISTLE  OF  PAUL  THE  APOSTLE  TO  THE 

THESSALONIANS 

IPaul  and  Silvanus  and  Timotheus,  to  the  church  of  the 
Thessalonians  in  God  the   Father  and  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ:  grace  and  peace  to  you. 

2  We  always  thank  God  for  you  all  when  we  mention  you 

3  constantly  in  our  prayers,  as  we  recall  your  active  faith 
and   labour   of   love   and   patient   hope   in   our   Lord   Jesus 

4  Christ,  before  our  God  and  Father.     O  brothers  beloved  by 

5  God,  we  know  he  has  chosen  you;  for  our  gospel  came  to 
you  not  with  mere  words  but  also  with  power  and  with 
the  holy  Spirit,  with  ample  conviction  on  our  part    (you 

6  know  what  we  were  to  you,  for  your  own  good),  and  you 
started  to  copy  us  and  the  Lord,  welcoming  the  word, 
though  it  brought  you  heavy  trouble,  with  a  joy  inspired 

7  by  the  holy  Spirit.     Thus  you  became  a  pattern  to  all  the 

8  believers  in  Macedonia  and  in  Achaia;  for  the  word  of  the 
Lord  has  resounded  from  you  not  only  through  Macedonia 
and  Achaia — no,  your  faith  in  God  has  reached  every  place. 

9  We  never  need  to  speak  about  it.  People  tell  us  of  their 
own  accord  about  the  visit  we  paid  to  you,  and  how  you 
turned  to  God  from  idols,  to  serve  a  living  and  a  real  God 

10  and  to  wait  for  the  coming  of  his  Son  from  heaven — the 
Son  whom  he  raised  from  the  dead,  Jesus  who  rescues  us 
from  the  Wrath  to  come. 

2  But  you  remember  yourselves,  brothers,  that  our  visit 
to  you  was  no  failure.  At  Philippi,  as  you  know,  we 
had  been  ill-treated  and  insulted,  but  we  took  courage  and 
confidence  in  our  God  to  tell  you  the  gospel  of  God  in  spite 

3  of  all  the  strain.  For  the  appeal  we  make  does  not  spring 
from   any   delusion   or   from   impure   motives — it   does   not 

4  work  by  cunning;  no,  God  has  attested  our  fitness  to  be 
entrusted  with  the  gospel,  and  so  we  tell  the  gospel  not 
to  satisfy  men  but  to  satisfy  the  God  who  tests  our  hearts. 

5  We  never  resorted  to  flattery  (you  know  that),  nor  to  any 

6  pretext  for  self-seeking  (God  is  witness  to  that);  we  never 
sought  honour  from  men,  from  you  or  from  anybody  else, 
though  as  apostles  of  Christ  we  had  the  power  of  claiming 

7  to  be  men  of  weight;  no,  we  behaved  gently  when  we  were 

307 


308  I.  THESSALONIANS  III 

among   you,    like   a   nursing    mother   cherishing   her   own 

8  children,  fain,  in  our  yearning  affection  for  you,  to  impart 
not  only  the  gospel  of  God  to  you  but  our  very  souls  as  well 

9  — you  had  so  won  our  love.  Brothers,  you  recollect  our 
hard  labour  and  toil,  how  we  worked  at  our  trade  night 
and  day,  when  we  preached  the  gospel  to  you,  so  as  not 

10  to  be  a  burden  to  any  of  you.  You  are  witnesses,  and  so  is 
God,  to  our  behaviour  among  you  believers,  how  pious  and 

11  upright  and  blameless  it  was,  how  (as  you  know)  we 
treated  each  of  you  as  a  father  treats  his  children,  beseech- 

12  ing  you,  encouraging  you,  and  charging  you  to  lead  a  life 
worthy  of  the  God  who  called  you  to  his  own  realm  and 
glory. 

13  We  thank  God  constantly  for  this  too,  that  when  you  re- 
ceived the  word  of  the  divine  message  from  us,  you  took 
it  not  as  a  human  word  but  for  what  it  really  is,  the  word 

14  of  God.  It  proves  effective  in  you  believers,  for  you  have 
started,  my  brothers,  to  copy  the  churches  of  God  in  Christ 
Jesus   throughout   Judaea;    you   have   suffered    from    your 

15  compatriots  just  as  they  have  suffered  from  the  Jews,  who 
killed  the  Lord  Jesus  and  the  prophets,  who  harassed  our- 

16  selves,  who  offend  God  and  oppose  all  men  by  hindering 
us  from  speaking  words  of  salvation  to  the  Gentiles.  So 
they  would  fill  up  the  measure  of  their  sins  to  the  last 
drop!     But  the  Wrath  is  on  them  to  the  bitter  end! 

17  Brothers,  when  we  were  bereft  of  you  for  a  little  while 
(out  of  sight,  not  out  of  mind),  we  were  the  more  eager 

18  to  see  you.  We  had  a  keen  longing  for  you.  (We  did 
want  to   reach   you — I   did,   I   Paul,   more  than   once — but 

19  Satan  stopped  us.)  For  who  is  our  hope,  our  joy,  our 
crown  of  pride  (who  but  you?)  in  the  presence  of  our  Lord 

20  Jesus  on  his  arrival?     Why,  you,  you  are  our  glory  and 

3  joy!  So,  unable  to  bear  it  any  longer,  I  made  up  my 

mind  to  be  left  behind  at  Athens  all  alone;  I  sent 
Timotheus  our  brother,  a  minister  of  God  in  the  gospel  of 
Christ,  for  your  strengthening  and  encouragement  in  the 

3  faith,  to  prevent  anyone  being  disturbed  by  these  troubles. 

4  (Troubles  are  our  lot,  you  know  that  well;  for  we  told 
you  beforehand,  when  we  were  with  you,  that  "we  Chris- 
tians are  to  have  trouble" — and,  as  you  know,  it  has  been 

5  so.)  Well  then,  unable  to  bear  it  any  longer,  I  sent  to  find 
out  about  your  faith,  in  case  the  Tempter  had  tempted  you 

6  and  our  labour  had  been  thrown  away.  But  when  Timo- 
theus reached  me  a  moment  ago  on  his  return  from  you, 
bringing  me  the  good  news  of  your  faith  and  love  and  of 
how  you  always  remember  me  kindly,  longing  to  see  me  as 

7  I  long  to  see  you,  then,  amid  all  my  own  distress  and 
trouble,  I  was  cheered — this  faith  of  yours  encouraged  me. 


I.  THESSALONIANS  IV  309 

1  It  is  life  to  me  now,  if  you  stand  firm  in  the  Lord.  How  can 
I   render  thanks  enough  to  God  for  you,  for  all  the  joy 

10  you  make  me  feel  in  the  presence  of  our  God?  Night  and 
day  I  pray  specially  that  I  may  see  your  faces  and  sup- 

11  ply  what  is   defective   in   your  faith.     May  our   God  and 

12  Father  and  our  Lord  Jesus  direct  my  way  to  you!  And 
may  the  Lord  make  you  increase  and  excel  in  love  to  one 

13  another  and  to  all  men  (as  is  my  love  for  you),  so  as  to 
strengthen  your  hearts  and  make  them  blameless  in  holi- 
ness before  our  God  and  Father  when  our  Lord  Jesus 
comes  with  all  his  holy  ones.     [Amen.] 

4  Finally,  brothers,  we  beg  and  beseech  you  in  the  Lord 
Jesus  to  follow  our  instructions  about  the  way  you  are 
to  live  so  as  to  satisfy  God;  you  are  leading  that  life,  but 

2  you  are  to  excel  in  it  still  further.  You  remember  the  in- 
structions we  gave  you  on  the  authority  of  the  Lord  Jesus. 

3  It  is  God's  will  that  you  should  be  consecrated,  that  you 

4  abstain  from  sexual  vice,  that  each  of  you  should  learn  to 

5  take  a  wife  for  himself  chastely  and  honourably,  not  to 
gratify  sensual  passion  like  the  Gentiles  in  their  ignorance 

6  of  God — no  one  is  to  defraud  or  overreach  his  brother 
in  this  matter,  for  the  Lord  avenges  all  these  sins,  as  we 

7  told  you  already  in  our  solemn  protest  against  them.     God 

8  did  not  call  us  to  be  impure  but  to  be  consecrated;  hence, 
he  who  disregards  this,  disregards  not  man  but  the  God 

9  who  gave  you  his  holy  Spirit.  You  need  no  one  to  write 
you  upon  brotherly  love,  for  you  are  yourselves  taught  by 

10  God  to  love  one  another,  as  indeed  is  your  practice  towards 
all  the   brothers  throughout   all   Macedonia.     We  beseech 

11  you,  brothers,  to  excel  in  this  more  and  more;  also,  en- 
deavour to  live  quietly,  attend  to  your  own  business,  and 

12  — as  we  charged  you — work  with  your  hands,  so  that 
your  life  may  be  correct  in  the  eyes  of  the  outside  world 
and  self-supporting. 

13  We  would  like  you,  brothers,  to  understand  about  those 
who  are  asleep  in  death.     You  must  not  grieve  for  them, 

14  like  the  rest  of  men  who  have  no  hope.  Since  we  believe 
that  Jesus  died  and  rose  again,  then  it  follows  that  by 
means  of  Jesus  God  will  bring  with  him  those  who  have 

15  fallen  asleep.  For  we  tell  you,  as  the  Lord  has  told  us, 
that  we  the  living,  who  survive  till  the  Lord  comes,  are  by 
no   means   to   take   precedence   of   those   who   have   fallen 

16  asleep.  The  Lord  himself  will  descend  from  heaven  with 
a  loud  summons,  when  the  archangel  calls  and  the  trumpet 

17  of  God  sounds;  the  dead  in  Christ  will  rise  first;  then  we 
the  living,  who  survive,  will  be  caught  up  along  with  them 
in  the  clouds  to  meet  the  Lord  in  the  air,  and  so  we  shall 


310  I.  THESSALONIANS  V 


5 


18  be  with  the  Lord  for  ever.  Now  then,  encourage  one  an- 
other with  these  words. 

As  regards  the  course  and  periods  of  time,  brothers,  you 
have  no  need  of  being  written  to.     You  know  perfectly- 
well  that  the  day  of  the  Lord  comes  like  a  thief  in  the 

3  night;  when  'all's  well'  and  'all  is  safe'  are  on  the  lips  of 
men,  then  all  of  a  sudden  Destruction  is  upon  them,  like 

4  pangs  on  a  pregnant  woman — escape  there  is  none.     But, 
brothers,  you  are  not  in  the  darkness  for  the  Day  to  sur- 

5  prise  you  like  thieves;*  you  are  all  sons  of  the  Light  and 
sons  of  the  day.     We  do  not  belong  to  the  night  or  the 

6  darkness.     Well  then,  we  must  not  sleep  like  the  rest  of 

7  men,  but  be  wakeful  and  sober;  for  sleepers  sleep  by  night 

8  and  drunkards  are  drunk  by  night,  but  we  must  be  sober,  we 
who  belong  to  the  day,  clad  in  faith  and  love  as  our  coat  of 

9  mail,  with  the  hope  of  salvation  as  our  helmet — for  God 
destined  us  not  for  Wrath  but  to  gain  salvation  through 

10  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  died  for  us  that  waking  in 
life  or  sleeping  in  death  we  should  live  together  with  him. 

11  Encourage  one  another,  therefore,  and  let  each  edify  the 
other — as  indeed  you  are  doing. 

12  Brothers,  we  beg  you  to  respect  those  who  are  working 
among  you,  presiding  over  you  in  the  Lord  and  maintain- 

13  ing  discipline;  hold  them  in  special  esteem  and  affection, 
for  the  sake  of  their  work.    Be  at  peace  among  yourselves. 

14  We  beseech  you,  brothers,  keep  a  check  upon  loafers, 
encourage  the  faint-hearted,  sustain  weak  souls,  never  lose 

15  your  temper  with  anyone;  see  that  none  of  you  pays  back 
jg   evil  for  evil,  but  always  aim  at  what  is  kind  to  one  another 

17  and  to  all  the  world;   rejoice  at  all  times,  never  give  up 

18  prayer,  thank  God  for  everything — such  is  his  will  for  you 

19  in    Christ    Jesus;    never    quench    the    fire    of    the    Spirit, 

20  never    disdain    prophetic    revelations    but    test    them    all, 

21  retaining  what  is  good  and  abstaining  from  whatever  kind 
2^   is  evil. 

23  May  the  God  of  peace  consecrate  you  through  and 
through!  Spirit,  soul,  and  body,  may  you  be  kept  without 
break  or  blame  till  the  arrival  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ! 

24  He  who  calls  you  is  faithful,  he  will  do  this. 

25  Pray  for  us  too,  brothers. 

26  Salute    every    one    of    the    brothers    with    a    holy    kiss. 

27  I  adjure  you  by  the  Lord  to  have  this  letter  read  aloud 
to  all  the  [holy]  brothers. 

28  The  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  be  with  you.    [Amen.] 

*  Reading  /cX^Trraj  with  A  B  and  the  Bohairic  version. 


THE  SECOND  EPISTLE  OF  PAUL  THE  APOSTLE  TO  THE 

THESSALONIANS 

IPaul  and  Silvanus  and  Timotheus,  to  the  church  of  the 
Thessalonians  in  God  our  Father  and  the  Lord  Jesus 

2  Christ:  grace  and  peace  to  you  from  God  the  Father  and 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

3  We  are  bound  always  to  thank  God  for  you,  brothers — 
it  is  proper  that  we  should,  because  your  faith  grows  apace 

4  and  your  mutual  love,  one  and  all,  is  increasing.  So  much 
so,  that  throughout  the  churches  of  God  we  are  proud  of 
you,  proud  of  the  stedfastness  and  faith  you  display 
through  all  the  persecutions  and  the  troubles  in  which  you 

5  are  involved.  They  are  proof  positive  of  God's  equity;  you 
are  suffering  for  the  realm  of  God,  and  he  means  to  make 

6  you  worthy  of  it — since  God  considers  it  but  just 

to  repay  with  trouble  those  who  trouble  you, 

7  and  repay  you  who  are  troubled  (as  well  as  us)  with 

rest  and  relief, 
when  the  Lord  Jesus  is  revealed  from  heaven 

8  together  with  the  angels  of  his  power  in  flmning  fire, 
to  inflict  imnisliment  on  those  who  ignore  God, 

even  on  those  who  refuse  obedience  to  the  gospel  of 
our  Lord  Jesus, 

9  men    who    will    pay    the    penalty    of    being    destroyed 

eternally 
from  the  presence  of  the  Lord 
and  from  the  glory  of  his  might, 

10  when  he  comes  to  'be  glorified  in  his  saints 

and  marvelled  at  in  all  believers 
on  that  day  (for  our  testimony  has  found  confirmation  *  in 

11  your  lives).  In  view  of  this  we  always  pray  for  you,  ask- 
ing our  God  to  make  you  worthy  of  his  calling  and  by  his 
power  to  fulfil  every  good  resolve  and  every  effort  of  faith, 

12  so  that  the  name  of  our  Lord  Jesus  may  be  glorified  in  you 
(and  you  glorified  in  him),  by  the  grace  of  our  God  and 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

*  Reading  with  Markland  and  Hort  iirKXTdidt)  (104  469  AmbrosiasteO 
for  the  iiriaTe^dr)  of  most  manuscripts  and  all  versions. 

311 


2 


312  II.  THESSALONIANS  II,  III 

With  regard  to  the  arrival  of  the  *  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
and  our  muster  before  him,  I  beg  you,  brothers,  not  to 
let  your  minds  get  easily  unsettled  or  excited  by  any  spirit 
of  prophecy  or  any  declaration  or  any  letter  purporting 
to  come  from  me,  to  the  effect  that  the  Day  of  the  Lord 

3  is  already  here.  Let  nobody  delude  you  into  this  belief, 
whatever  he  may  say.  It  will  not  come  till  the  Rebellion 
takes  place  first  of  all,  with  the  revealing  of  the  Lawless  t 

4  One,  the  doomed  One,  the  adversary  who  vaunts  himself 
above  and  against  every  so-called  god  or  object  of  worship, 
actually  seating  himself  in  the  temple  of  Ood  with  the  proc- 

5  lamation  that  he  himself  is  God.     Do  you  not  remember 

6  I  used  to  tell  you  this  when  I  was  with  you?  Well,  you 
can  recall  now  what  it  is  that  restrains  him  from  being 

7  revealed  before  his  appointed  time.  For  the  secret  force 
of  lawlessness  is  at  work  already;  only,  it  cannot  be 
revealed  till  he  who  at  present  restrains  it  is  removed. 

S       Then  shall  the  Lawless  One  be  revealed, 

whom  the  Lord  Jesus  ivill  destroy  with  the  breath  of 

his  lips 
and  quell  by  his  appearing  and  arrival — 
9       that  One  whose  arrival  is  due  to  Satan's  activity, 

with   the   full    power,    the   miracles    and   portents,    of 
falsehood, 

10  and  with  the  full  deceitfulness  of  evil  for  those  who 

are  doomed  to  perish, 
since  they  refuse  to  love  the  Truth  that  would  save  them. 

11  Therefore  God  visits  them  with  an  active  delusion, 

till  they  put  faith  in  falsehood, 

12  so    that   all    may   be    doomed   who    refuse   faith    in    the 

Truth  but  delight  in  evil. 

13  Now  we  are  bound  always  to  thank  God  for  you,  brothers 
beloved  by  the  Lord,  because  God  has  chosen  you  as  the 
first  to  be  reaped  for  salvation,  by  the  consecration  of  your 

14  spirit  and  by  faith  in  the  Truth;  it  was  for  this  that  he 
called  you  by  our  gospel,  to  gain  the  glory  of  our  Lord 

15  Jesus  Christ.  Well,  then,  brothers,  stand  firm  and  hold 
to  the  rules  which  you  have  learned  from  us  orally  or  by 

16  letter.  And  may  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  himself  and  God 
our  Father  who  has  loved  us  and  given  us  eternal  encour- 

17  agement  and  good  hope,  graciously  encourage  your  hearts 
and  strengthen  them  for  all  good  in  deed  and  word. 

Finally,  brothers,  pray  for  us,  that  the  word  of  the 
Lord  may  speed  on  and  triumph,  as  in  your  own  case, 
2  and  that  we  may  be  delivered  from  perverse  and  evil  men 

*  Omitting  V^"  with  B  SyrhW. 

t  Reading  dvonlas  with  K  B,  etc.,  for  the  Western  paraphrastic  df^apTlas. 


3 


II.  THESSALONIANS  III  313 

3  — for  the  faith  is  not  held  by  all.  However,  the  Lord  is 
faithful;  he  will  be  sure  to  strengthen  you  and  protect  you 

4  from  the  Evil  one.     Now,  we  rely  on  you  in  the  Lord,  con- 

5  fident  that  you  do  and  will  do  what  we  enjoin.  May  the 
Lord  direct  your  hearts  towards  God's  love  and  towards 
Christ's  patience! 

6  Brothers,  we  charge  you  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  to  shun  any  brother  who  is  loafing,  instead  of  fol- 

7  lowing  the  rule  you  got  *  from  us.     For  you  know  quite 

8  well  how  to  copy  us;  we  did  not  loaf  in  your  midst,  we  did 
not  take  free  meals  from  anyone;  no,  toiling  hard  at  our 
trade,  we  worked  night  and  day,  so  as  not  to  be  a  burden 

9  to  any  of  you.    Not  that  we  have  no  right  to  such  support; 

10  it  was  simply  to  give  you  a  pattern  to  copy.  We  used  to 
charge  you  even  when  we  were  with  you,  'If  a  man  will  not 

11  work,  he  shall  not  eat.'  But  we  are  informed  that  some 
of  your  number  are  loafing,  busybodies  instead  of  busy. 

12  Now  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  we  charge  and  exhort  such 
persons  to  keep  quiet,   to   do   their  work  and  earn  their 

13  own  living.     As  for  yourselves,  brothers,  never  grow  tired 

14  of  doing  what  is  right.  Only,  if  anyone  will  not  obey 
our  orders  in  this  letter,  mark  that  man,  do  not  associate 

15  with  him — that  will  make  him  feel  ashamed!  You  are  not 
to  treat  him  as  an  enemy,  but  to  put  him  under  discipline 
as  a  brother. 

16  May  the  Lord  of  peace  himself  grant  you  peace  con- 
tinually, whatever  comes. 

The  Lord  be  with  you  all. 

17  The  salutation  is  in  my  own  hand,  Paul's;  that  is  a 
mark    in    every    letter    of    mine.      This    is    how    I    write. 

18  'The  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  be  with  you  all.' 

*  Reading  TrapeXd^ere  with  B  G,  etc.,  for  irapekd^oaav. 


THE  FIRST  EPISTLE  OF  PAUL  THE  APOSTLE  TO 

TIMOTHEUS 

1    Paul  an  apostle  of  Christ  Jesus  by  command  of  God  our 

2  J^  Saviour  and  Christ  Jesus  our  Hope,  to  Timotheus  his 
lawful  son  in  the  faith:  grace,  mercy,  peace  from  God  the 
Father  and  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord. 

3  As  I  asked  you  when  I  was  on  my  way  to  Macedonia, 
stay  where  you  are  at  Ephesus  and  warn  certain  individ- 

4  uals  against  teaching  novelties  and  studying  myths  and 
interminable  genealogies;  such  studies  bear  upon  spec- 
ulations  rather   than  on  the   divine   order  which  belongs 

5  to  faith.  Whereas  the  aim  of  the  Christian  discipline  is 
the  love  that  springs  from  a  pure  heart,  from  a  good  con- 

6  science,  and  from  a  sincere  faith.    Certain  individuals  have 

7  failed  here  by  turning  to  empty  argument;  doctors  of  the 
Law  is  what  they  want  to  be,  but  they  have  no  idea  either 
of  the  meaning  of  the  words  they  use  or  of  the  themes 

8  on  which  they  harp.  I  am  quite  aware  that  'the  Law  is 
admirable' — provided  that  one  makes  a  lawful  use  of  it; 

9  he  must  keep  in  mind  that  no  law  is  ever  made  for  honest 
people  but  for  the  lawless  and  the  insubordinate,  for  the 
impious  and  the  sinful,  for  the  irreverent  and  the  profane, 

10  for  parricides  and  matricides,  murderers,  immoral  persons, 
sodomites,  kidnappers,  liars,  perjurers,  and  whatever  else 

11  is  contrary  to  sound  doctrine  as  laid  down  by  that  glorious 
gospel  of  the  blessed  God  with  which  I  have  been  entrusted. 

12  I  render  thanks  to  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord,  who  has  made 
me    able    for    this;    he    considered    me    trustworthy    and 

13  appointed  me  to  the  ministry,  though  I  had  formerly  been 
a  blasphemer  and  a  persecutor  and  a  wanton  aggressor. 
I  obtained  mercy  because  in  my  unbelief  I  had  acted  out 

14  of  ignorance;  and  the  grace  of  our  Lord  flooded  my  life 
along  with  the  faith  and  love  that  Christ  Jesus  inspires. 

15  It  is  a  sure  word,  it  deserves  all  praise,  that  "Christ  Jesus 
came  into  the  world  to  save  sinners";  and  though  I  am  the 

16  foremost  of  sinners,  I  obtained  mercy,  for  the  purpose  of 
furnishing  Christ  Jesus  with  the  chief  illustration  of  his 
utter  patience;  I  was  to  be  the  typical  instance  of  all  who 

17  were  to  believe  in  him  and  gain  eternal  life.    To  the  King 

314 


1.  TIMOTHEUS  II,  III  315 

of  eternity,  immortal,  invisible,  the  only  God,  be  honour 
and  glory  for  ever  and  ever:   Amen. 

18  I  transmit  these  instructions  to  you,  Timotheus  my  son, 
in  accordance  with  what  the  prophets  said  who  first 
directed  me  to  you;    fight  the  good  fight  on  these  lines, 

19  keeping  hold  of  faith  and  a  good  conscience..  Certain  in- 
dividuals have  scouted  the  good  conscience  and  thus  come 

20  to  grief  over  their  faith — including  Hymenaeus  and  Alex- 
ander, whom  I  have  made  over  to  Satan.  That  will  teach 
them  to  stop  their  blasphemous  ongoings! 

2  Well,    my    very    first    counsel    is    that    supplications, 
prayers,  petitions,  and  thanksgiving,  are  to  be  offered 

2  for  all  men — for  kings  and  all  in  authority,  that  we  may 

3  lead  a  tranquil  life  in  all  piety  and  gravity;   it  is  good  to 

4  pray  thus,  it  is  acceptable  to  our  Saviour,  to  the  God  who 
desires  all  men  to  be  saved  and  to  attain  the  knowledge 

5  of  the  Truth.     For  "there  is  one  God"  and  "one  interme- 

6  diary  between  God  and  men,  the  man  Christ  Jesus  who 
gave  himself  as  a  ransom  for  all": — in  due  time  this  was 

7  attested,  and  I  was  appointed  to  be  its  herald  and  apostle 
(I  am  not  telling  a  lie,  it  is  quite  true),  to  teach  the 
Gentiles  faith  and  truth. 

8  Now  I  want  the  men  to  offer  prayer  at  any  meeting  of 
the  church;  and  let  the  hands  they  lift  to  heaven  be  holy — 

9  they  must  be  free  from  anger  and  dissension.  Women  in 
turn  are  to  dress  modestly  and  quietly  in  seemly  garb; 
they  are  not  to  adorn  themselves  with  plaits  of  hair,  with 

10  gold  or  pearls  or  expensive  finery,  but  with  good  deeds 

11  (as  befits  women  who  make  a  religious  profession.  A 
woman  must   listen    quietly   in   church    and   be    perfectly 

12  submissive;  I  allow  no  woman  to  teach  or  dictate  to  men, 

13  she  must  keep  quiet.     For  Adam  was  created  first,  then 

14  Eve;    and  Adam  was  not  deceived,  it  was  Eve  who  was 

15  deceived  and  who  fell  into  sin.  However,  women  will  get 
safely  through  childbirth  if  they  continue  to  be  faithful 
and  loving  and  holy  as  well  as  unassuming. 

It  is  a  popular  *  saying  that  "whoever  aspires  to  office  is 
set  upon  an  excellent  occupation."     Well,  for  the  office 
of  a  bishop  a  man  must  be  above  reproach;   he  must  be 
only  married  once,  he  must  be  temperate,  master  of  him- 
3  self,  unruffled,  hospitable,  a  skilled  teacher,  not  a  drunk- 
ard or  violent,  but  lenient  and  conciliatory,  not  a  lover  of 

*  Reading  dpdpdbinvos  with  D,  the  Old  Latin,  Ambrosiaster,  and  Western 
codices  known  to  Jerome.  It  is  much  more  easy  to  understand  how  it 
was  altered  to  Triards  for  the  sake  of  uniformity  with  i.  15,  etc.,  than 
vice  versa. 


3 


316  I.  TIMOTHEUS  IV 

4  money,  able  to  manage  his  own  household  properly  and 

5  keep  his  children  submissive  and  perfectly  respectful  (if 
a  man  does  not  know  how  to  manage  his  own  household, 

6  how  is  he  to  look  after  the  church  of  God?) ;  he  must  not 
be  a  new  convert,  in  case  he  gets  conceited  and  incurs  the 

7  doom  passed  on  the  devil;  also,  he  must  have  a  good  repu- 
tation among  outsiders,  in  case  he  incurs  slander  and  is 
trapped  by  the  devil. 

8  Deacons  in  turn  are  to  be  serious  men;  they  are  not  to 

9  be  tale-bearers  or  addicted  to  drink  or  pilfering;  they 
must  maintain  the  divine  truth  of  the  faith  with  a  pure 

10  conscience.  They  too  must  be  put  on  probation;  after  that, 
if   they   are   above   reproach,   they   can   serve   as   deacons. 

11  Their  wives  must  be  serious  too;  they  must  not  be 
slanderers    but     temperate     and     absolutely    trustworthy. 

12  Deacons  are  only  to  be  married  once,  and  they  must  manage 

13  their  children  and  households  properly.  For  those  who  do 
good  service  as  deacons  win  a  good  position  for  themselves 
as  well  as  great  freedom  in  the  faith  of  Christ  Jesus. 

14  Though  I  hope  to  come  to  you  before  long,  I  am  writing 

15  to  you  in  this  way,  in  case  I  am  detained,  to  let  you  see 
how  people  ought  to  behave  within  the  household  of  God; 
it  is  the  church  of  the  living  God,  the  pillar  and  bulwark 

16  of  the  Truth.  And  who  does  not  admit  how  profound  is 
the  divine  truth  of  our  religion? — it  is  He  who  was 

"manifest  in  the  flesh, 
vindicated  by  the  Spirit, 
seen  by  the  angels, 
preached  among  the  nations, 
believed  on  throughout  the  world, 
taken  up  to  glory." 
But  in  later  days,  the  Spirit  distinctly  declares,  certain 
people  will  rebel  against  the  faith;   they  will  listen  to 
spirits  of  error  and  to  the  doctrines  that  daemons  teach 

2  through  plausible  sophists  who  are  seared  in  conscience — 

3  men  who  prohibit  marriage  and  insist  on  abstinence  from 
foods  which   God   created  for  believing  men,   who   under- 

4  stand  the  Truth,  to  partake  of  with  thanksgiving.  Anything 
God  has  created  is  good,  and  nothing  is  to  be  tabooed — 

5  provided  it  is  eaten  with  thanksgiving,  for  then  it  is  con- 
secrated by  the  prayer  said  over  it. 

6  Lay  this  before  the  brotherhood,  and  you  will  be  an 
excellent  minister  of  Christ  Jesus,  brought  up  on  the 
truths  of  the  faith  and  on  the  lessons  of  the  good  doctrine 

7  you  have  already  followed.  Shut  your  mind  against  these 
profane,    drivelling    myths;    train    for    the    religious    life. 

8  The  training  of  the  body  is  of  small  service,  but  religion 
is  of  service  in  all  directions;   it  contains  the  promise  of 


4 


5 


I.  TIMOTHEUS  V  317 

9  life  both  for  the  present  and  for  the  future.     It  is  a  sure 

10  word,  it  deserves  all  praise,  that  "we  toil  and  strive  * 
because  our  hope  is  fixed  upon  the  living  God,  the  Saviour 
of  all  men" — of  believers  in  particular. 

11  Give  these  orders  and  teach  these  lessons.     Let  no  one 
^2    slight  you  because  you  are  a  youth,  but  set  the  believers 

an  example  of  speech,  behaviour,  love,  faith,  and  purity. 

13  Attend  to  your  Scripture-reading,  your  preaching,  and  your 

14  teaching,  till  I  come.  You  have  a  gift  that  came  to  you 
transmitted   by    the    prophets,    when   the    presbytery    laid 

15  their  hands  upon  you;  do  not  neglect  that  gift.  Attend  to 
these  duties,  let  them  absorb  you,  so  that  all  men  may  note 

16  your  progress.  Watch  yourself  and  watch  your  teaching; 
stick  to  your  work;  if  you  do  that,  you  will  save  your 
hearers  as  well  as  yourself. 

Never  censure  an  older  man  harshly;  appeal  to  him  as 
a  father.  Treat  younger  men  like  brothers,  older 
women  like  mothers,  younger  women  like  sisters — with  per- 
fect propriety. 

3  Widows  who  really  need  it  must  be  supported  from  the 

4  funds.  (When  a  widow  has  children  or  grandchildren, 
they  must  learn  that  the  first  duty  of  religion  is  to  their 
own  household,  and  that  they  should  make  some  return  to 
those  who  have  brought  them  up.     In  God's  sight  this  is 

5  an  acceptable  thing.)  The  really  forlorn  widow  has  her 
hope  fixed  on  God,  night  and  day  she  is  at  her  prayers  and 

6  supplications;   whereas  the  widow  who  plunges  into  dissi- 

7  pation  is  dead  before  ever  she  dies.  So  lay  down  the 
following  rules,   to  prevent  any  reproach  being  incurred. 

8  Whoever  does  not  provide  for  his  own  relatives  and  par- 
ticularly for  his  own  family,  has  repudiated  the  faith:  he 

9  is  worse  than  an  infidel.  No  one  under  sixty  is  to  be  put 
on  the  church's  list  of  widows;    and  she  must  have  been 

10  only  once  married,  she  must  have  a  reputation  for  good 
service,  as  a  woman  who  has  brought  up  children,  shown 
hospitality,  washed  the  feet  of  the  saints,  relieved  distress, 

11  and  interested  herself  in  all  good  works.  Refuse  to  put 
young  widows  on  the  list,  for  when  their  wanton  desires 

12  alienate  them  from  Christ,  they  want  to  marry  and  thus  are 

13  guilty  of  breaking  their  first  troth  to  Him.  Besides,  they 
become  idle  unconsciously  t  by  gadding  about  from  one 
house  to  another — and  not  merely  idle  but  gossips  and 
busybodies,  repeating  things  they  have  no  right  to  men- 

*  Reading  dycovi^Sfieda  with  K*  A  C  G  K,  etc.  The  context  requires 
an  aggressive,  active  verb.  The  "  sure  words  "  all  have  a  more  or  less 
eschatological  outlook. 

1 1  accept  the  conjecture  Xavddvovai  for  the  ixavddvovai  of  the  canonical 
text,  which  makes  the  grammatical  construction  very  awkward. 


318  I.  TIMOTHEUS  VI 

14  tion.  So  I  prefer  young  widows  to  marry  again,  to  bear 
children,  to  look  after  their  households,  and  nut  to  afford 

15  our  opponents  any  chance  of  reviling  us.     As  it  is,  some 

16  widows  have  already  turned  after  Satan. — Any  believer, 
man  or  woman,  who  has  widowed  relatives,  must  give  them 
relief;  the  church  is  not  to  be  burdened  with  them;  she 
has  to  relieve  the  widows  who  really  need  relief. 

17  Presbyters  who  are  efficient  presidents  are  to  be  con- 
sidered worthy  of  ample  remuneration,  particularly  those 

18  who  have  the  task  of  preaching  and  teaching:  Scripture 
says.  You  must  not  muzzle  an  ox  when  he  is  treading  the 
grain,  and  A  workman  deserves  his  wages. 

la.      Never  let   any  charge  be  brought  against  a  presbyter, 

20  unless  it  is  certified  by  two  or  three  witnesses.  Those 
who  are  guilty  of  sin  you  must  expose  in  public,  to  over- 
awe the  others. 

21  In  the  presence  of  God  and  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and 
the  elect  angels,  I  adjure  you  to  be  unprejudiced  in  carry- 
ing out  these  orders;   be  absolutely  impartial. 

22  Never  be  in  a  hurry  to  ordain  a  presbyter;  do  not  make 
yourself   responsible    for   the   sins   of   another   man — keep 

24  your  own  life  pure.*  Some  people's  sins  are  notori- 
ous and  call  for  judgment,  but  in  some  cases  sin  only  comes 

25  out  afterwards.  Good  works  are  equally  conspicuous;  and 
even  when  they  are  not,  they  cannot  escape  notice  for  ever. 

Let   all   servants   who   are   under   the   yoke   of   slavery 
remember    that   their   masters    are   entitled   to   perfect 
respect — otherwise  it  will  be  a  scandal  to  the  Name  of  God 

2  and  to  our  doctrine.  Those  who  have  Christian  believers 
as  their  masters  must  not  take  liberties  with  them  because 
they  are  brothers;  they  must  be  all  the  better  servants 
because  those  who  get  the  good  of  their  service  are 
believers  and  beloved. 

3  This  is  what  you  are  to  teach  and  preach.  Anyone  who 
teaches  novelties  and  refuses  to  fall  in  with  the  sound 
words   of   our   Lord    Jesus    Christ   and    the    doctrine   that 

4  tallies  with  piety,  is  a  conceited,  ignorant  creature,  with  a 
morbid  passion  for  controversy  and  argument  which  only 

5  leads  to  envy,  dissension,  insults,  insinuations,  and  con- 
stant friction  between  people  who  are  depraved  in  mind 
and   deprived  of  the  Truth.     They  imagine  religion  is  a 

6  paying  concern.     And   so   it   is — provided    it   goes  with   a 

7  contented    spirit;    for   we   bring   nothing   into    the   world, 

*  The  words,  "  Give  up  being  a  total  abstainer;  take  a  little  wine  for 
the  sake  of  your  stomach  and  your  frequent  attacks  of  illness,"  which 
follow,  are  either  a  marginal  gloss  or  misplaced. 


6 


I.  TIMOTHEUS  VI  319 

8  and  we  can  take  nothing  out  of  it.     If  we  have  food  and 

9  clothes,  we  must  be  content  with  that.  Those  who  are 
eager  to  be  rich  get  tempted  and  trapped  in  many  senseless 
and  pernicious  propensities  that   drag  men  down  to  ruin 

10  and  destruction.  For  love  of  money  is  the  root  of  all  mis- 
chief; it  is  by  aspiring  to  be  rich  that  certain  individuals 
have   gone   astray   from   the   faith   and    found    themselves 

11  pierced  with  many  a  pang  of  remorse.  Shun  that,  O  man 
of  God,  aim  at  integrity,  piety,  faith,  love,  stedfastness,  and 

12  suavity;  fight  in  the  good  fight  of  the  faith,  secure  that  life 
eternal  to  which  you  were  called  when  you  voiced  the  good 

13  confession  in  the  presence  of  many  witnesses.  In  the  pres- 
ence of  God  who  is  the  Life  of  all,  and  of  Christ  Jesus  who 
testified    to    the   good    confession   before    Pontius    Pilate,    I 

14  charge  you  to  keep  your  commission  free  from  stain, 
free  from  reproach,  till  the  appearance  of  our  Lord  Jesus 

15  Christ — which  will  be  brought  about  in  due  time  by  that 
blessed   and    only   Sovereign,    King   of   kings   and    Lord   of 

16  lords,  who  alone  has  immortality,  who  dwells  in  light  that 
none  can  approach,  whom  no  man  has  ever  seen  or  can 
see.    To  him  be  honour  and  eternal  dominion:  Amen. 

17  Charge  the  rich  of  this  world  not  to  be  supercilious,  and 
not  to  fix  their  hopes  on  so  uncertain  a  thing  as  riches 
but  on  the  living  God  who  richly  provides  us  with  all  the 

18  enjoyments  of  life;   tell  them  to  be  bountiful,  rich  in  good 

19  works,  open-handed  and  generous,  amassing  right  good  * 
treasure  for  themselves  in  the  world  to  come,  in  order  to 
secure  the  life  which  is  life  indeed. 

20  O  Timotheus,  keep  the  securities  of  the  faith  intact: 
avoid   the   profane    jargon    and   contradictions    of   what    is 

21  falsely  called  'Knowledge.'  Certain  individuals  have  failed 
in  the  faith  by  professing  that. 

Grace  be  with  you.     [Amen.] 

*  For  dcfx^Xiov  I  accept  the  attractive  conjecture  6e/j.a  \iap,  in  view  of 
the  close  parallel  in  Tobitiv.  9-10  {6^/xa  yap  ayaObv  drjaavpi^eis  aeavrip  els 
i]/j.^pav  dvdyKTjs  •  8i6ti  eXerj/xoavvr]  iK  davdrov  pveTai) . 


THE    SECOND    EPISTLE    OF    PAUL    THE    APOSTLE    TO 

TIMOTHEUS 


1 


Paul  an  apostle  of  Christ  Jesus  by  the  will  of  God  in 
the  service  of  the  Life  he  has  promised  in  Christ  Jesus 

2  — to  his  beloved  son  Timotheus:  grace,  mercy,  peace,  from 
God  the  Father  and  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord. 

3  I  render  thanks  to  God,  the  God  of  my  fathers  whom  I 
worship   with  a  pure   conscience,   as   I   mention   you   con- 

4  stantly  in  my  prayers.  When  I  recall  the  tears  you  shed 
when  we  parted,  I  long  by  night  and  day  to  see  you  again. 

5  That  would  fill  me  with  joy,  for  I  am  reminded  of  your 
sincere  faith,  a  faith  which  dwelt  first  in  your  grandmother 
Lois  and  your  mother  Eunice,  as  it  dwells    (I  feel  sure) 

6  in  yourself.  Hence  I  would  remind  you  to  rekindle  the 
divine  gift  which  you  received  when  my  hands  were  laid 

7  upon  you;   for  God  has  not  given  us  a  timid  spirit  but  a 

8  spirit  of  power  and  love  and  discipline.  So  do  not  be 
ashamed  to  testify  to  our  Lord,  and  do  not  be  ashamed  of 
a  prisoner  of  the  Lord  like  me;  join  me  in  bearing  suffer- 

9  ing  for  the  gospel  by  the  power  of  the  God  who  has  saved 
us  and  called  us  to  a  life  of  consecration — not  for  anything 
we  have  done  but  because  he  chose  to  do  it  himself,  by  the 

10  grace  which  he  gave  us  ages  ago  in  Christ  Jesus  and  has 
now  revealed  in  the  appearance  of  our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ, 
who  has  put  down  death  and  brought  life  and  immortality 

11  to  light  by  the  gospel.     Of  that  gospel   I   have   been   ap- 

12  pointed  a  herald  and  an  apostle  and  a  teacher,  and  this  is 
why  I  am  suffering.  Still,  I  am  not  ashamed  of  it;  I  know 
whom  I  have  trusted  and  I  am  certain  he  is  able  to  keep 
what  I  have  put  into  his  hands  till  the  great  Day. 

13  Model  yourself  on  the  sound  instruction  you  have  had 

14  from  me  in  the  faith  and  love  of  Christ  Jesus.  Keep  the 
great  securities  of  your  faith  intact,  by  aid   of  the  holy 

15  Spirit  that  dwells  within  us.  You  are  aware  that  all  the 
Asiatics     have     discarded     me,     including     Phygelus     and 

16  Hermogenes.  May  the  Lord  show  favour  to  the  household 
of  Onesiphorus,  for  many  a  time  he  braced  me  up;  he  was 

17  not  ashamed  of  my  imprisonment — no,  he  made  eager 
search  for  me  when  he  reached  Rome,  and  he  found  me 

18  (may  he  find   favour   with   the  Lord   on   the  great   Day! 

320 


11.  TIMOTHEUS  II  321 

The  Lord  grant  it! ).    And  you  know  very  well  what  a  help 
he  was  to  me  in  Ephesus. 

2  Now,  my  son,  be  strong  in  the  grace  of  Christ  Jesus, 
and  transmit  the  instructions  I  gave  you  in  presence  of 
many  witnesses   to    trustworthy   men,   that   they   may   be 

3  competent  to  teach  others.     Join  the  ranks  of  those  who 

4  bear  suffering,  like   a  loyal  soldier  of   Christ  Jesus.     No 
soldier  gets  entangled  in  civil  pursuits ;  his  aim  is  to  satisfy 

5  his  commander.     Again,  a  competitor  in  the  games  is  not 

6  crowned  unless  he  observes  the  rules.    The  farmer  who  has 
done    the   work   must   have   the    first   share    of   the    fruit. 

7  Think  what  I  mean!       The  Lord  will  help  you  to  under- 
stand perfectly. 

8  Never  forget  "Jesus  Christ  risen  from  the  dead,  descended 

9  from  David" — that  is  my  gospel,  for  which  I  have  to  suffer 
imprisonment    as    if    I    were    a    criminal.      (But    there    is 

10  no  prison  for  the  word  of  God.)  All  I  endure  is  for  the 
sake  of  the  elect,  to  let  them  obtain  their  share  of  the 

11  salvation  of  Christ  Jesus  and  also  of  eternal  glory.  It  is  a 
sure  word,  that 

"If  we  have  died  with  him,  we  shall  live  with  him, 

12  if  we  endure,  then  we  shall  reign  with  him, 
if  we  disown  him,  then  he  shall  disown  us, 

13  if  we  are  faithless,  he  remains  faithful" — 
for  he  cannot  be  untrue  to  himself. 

14  Remind  men  of  this:  adjure  them  before  the  Lord  not 
to  bandy  arguments — no  good  comes  out  of  that,  it  only 

15  means  the  undoing  of  your  audience.  Do  your  utmost  to 
let  God  see  that  you  at  least  are  a  sound  workman,  with 
no  need  to  be  ashamed  of  the  way  you  handle  the  word  of 

16  the   Truth.     Avoid   all   that   profane   jargon,   for   it   leads 

17  people  still  further  into  irreligion,  and  their  doctrine 
spreads  like  a  gangrene.     So  it  is  with  Hymenaeus  and 

18  Philetus;  they  have  failed  in  the  Truth  by  arguing  that 
the   resurrection   has   taken   place    already,   and    they   are 

19  undermining  some  people's  faith.  But  the  solid  foundation 
laid  by  God  remains,  and  this  is  its  inscription: 

the  Lord  knows  ivho  are  Ms, 
and 

'let  everyone  who  names  the  name  of  the  Lord  give  up 
evil.' 

20  In  any  great  house  there  are  indeed  vessels  not  only  of 
gold  and  silver  but  also  of  wood  and  clay,  some  for  noble, 

21  some  for  menial  service.  If  one  will  only  keep  clear  of  the 
latter,  he  will  be  put  to  noble  use,  he  will  be  consecrated 
and  useful  to  the  Owner  of  the  House,  he  will  be  set  apart 

22  for  good  work  of  all  kinds.  So  shun  the  lusts  of  youth  and 
aim  at  integrity,  faith,  love  and  peace,  in   the  company 


322  II.  TIMOTHEUS  III,  IV 

23  of  those  who  invoke  the  Lord  out  of  a  pure  heart.  Shut 
your  mind   against  foolish,   popular   controversy;    be  sure 

24  that  only  breeds  strife.  And  the  Lord's  servant  must  not 
be  a  man  of  strife;  he  must  be  kind  to  everybody,  a  skilled 

25  teacher,  a  man  who  will  not  resent  injuries;  he  must  be 
gentle  in  his  admonitions  to  the  opposition — God  may  per- 

26  haps  let  them  change  their  mind  and  admit  the  Truth;  they 
may  come  to  their  senses  again  and  escape  the  snare  of  the 
devil,  as  they  are  brought  back  to  life  by  God  to  do  his 
will. 

3  Mark  this,  there  are  hard  times  coming  in  the  last  days. 
For    men    will    be    selfish,    fond    of    money,    boastful,, 
haughty,  abusive,  disobedient  to  their  parents,  ungrateful, 

3  irreverent,    callous,    relentless,    scurrilous,    dissolute,    and 

4  savage;  they  will  hate  goodness,  they  will  be  treacherous, 

5  reckless  and  conceited,  preferring  pleasure  to  God — for 
though  they  keep  up  a  form  of  religion,   they  will  have 

6  nothing  to  do  with  it  as  a  force.  Avoid  all  such.  Some 
of  them  worm  their  way  into  families  and  get  hold  of  the 
women-folk  who  feel  crushed  by  the  burden  of  their  sins — 

7  wayward  creatures  of  impulse,  who  are  always  curious  to 
learn  and  never  able  to  attain  the  knowledge  of  the  Truth. 

8  For  these  guides  of  theirs  are  hostile  to  the  Truth,  just  as 
Jannes  and  Jambres  were  hostile  to  Moses;    they  are  dc- 

9  praved  in  mind  and  useless  for  all  purposes  of  faith.  How- 
ever, they  will  get  no  further,  for  their  aberration  will  be 
detected  by  everyone,  as  was  the  case  with  these  magicians. 

10  Now  you  have  followed  my  teaching,   my  practice,   my 

11  aims,  my  faith,  my  patience,  my  love,  my  stedfastness,  my 
persecutions,  my  sufferings — all  that  befell  me  at  Antioch, 
Iconium  and  Lystra,  all  the  persecutions  I  had  to  undergo, 

12  from  which  the  Lord  rescued  me.  Yes,  and  all  who  want 
to  live  the  religious  life  in  Christ  Jesus  will  be  persecuted. 

13  Bad  characters  and  impostors  will  go  from  bad  to  worse, 

14  deceiving  others  and  deceived  themselves;  but  hold  you  to 
what  you  have  been  taught,  hold  to  your  convictions,  remem- 

15  ber  who  your  teachers  were,  remember  you  have  known 
from  childhood  the  sacred  writings  that  can  impart  sav- 

16  ing  wisdom  by  faith  in  Christ  Jesus.  All  scripture  is  in- 
spired by  God  and  profitable  for  teaching,  for  reproof,  for 

17  amendment,  and  for  moral  discipline,  to  make  the  man  of 
God  proficient  and  equip  him  for  good  work  of  every  kind. 

4  In  the  presence  of  God   and  of  Christ  Jesus   who  will 
judge  the  living  and  the  dead,  in  the  light  of  his  appear- 
2  ance  and  his  reign,  I  adjure  you  to  preach  the  word;  keep 
at  it  in  season  and  out  of  season,  refuting,  checking,  and 
exhorting  men;   never  lose  patience  with  them,  and  never 


II.  TIMOTHEUS  IV  323 

3  give  up  your  teaching,  for  the  time  will  come  when  people 
will  decline  to  be  taught  sound  doctrine  and  will  accumu- 
late   teachers    to    suit    themselves    and    tickle    their    own 

4  fancies;  they  will  give  up  listening  to  the  Truth  and  turn 
to  myths. 

5  Whatever  happens,  be  self-possessed,  flinch  from  no  suf- 
fering, do  your  work  as  an  evangelist,  and  discharge  all 
your  duties  as  a  minister. 

6  The  last  drops  of  my  own  sacrifice  are  falling;  my  time 

7  to  go  has  come.     I  have  fought  in  the  good  fight;  I  have 

8  run  my  course;  I  have  kept  the  faith.  Now  the  crown 
of  a  good  life  awaits  me,  with  which  the  Lord,  that  just 
Judge,  will  reward  me  on  the  great  Day — and  not  only 
me  but  all  who  have  loved  and  longed  for  his  appearance. 

j^  Do  your  best  to  come  soon  to  me,  for  Demas,  in  his  love 
for  this  world,  has  deserted  me  and  gone  to  Thessalonica; 

11  Crescens  is  off  to  Gaul,  Titus  to  Dalmatia,  Luke  is  the  only 
one  who  is  with  me.     Pick  up  Mark  and  bring  him  along 

12  with  you,  for  he  is  of  great  use  in  helping  me.     (I  have  had 

13  to  send  Tychicus  to  Ephesus.)  When  you  come,  bring 
the  mantle  I  left  at  Troas  with  Carpus,  also  my  books,  and 
particularly  my  paper. 

14  Alexander  the  blacksmith  has  done  me  a  lot  of  harm: 
the  Lord  ivill  pay  him  back  for  what  he  has  done  (beware 

15  of  him),  for  he  has  been  bitterly  hostile  to  anything  I 

16  have  said.  The  first  time  I  had  to  defend  myself,  I  had  no 
supporters ;  everyone  deserted  me.    God  grant  it  may  not  be 

17  brought  up  against  them!  But  the  Lord  supported  me  and 
gave  me  strength  to  make  a  full  statement  of  the  gospel  and 
let  all  the  heathen  hear  it.    I  was  rescued  from  the  jaws  of 

18  the  lion.  The  Lord  will  rescue  me  from  every  assault  of 
evil,  he  will  bring  me  safe  to  his  own  realm  in  heaven. 
To  him  be  glory  for  ever  and  ever!     Amen. 

19  Salute  Prisca  and  Aquila  and  the  household  of  Ones- 
iphorus. 

20  Erastus  stayed  on  at  Corinth:    I  left  Trophimus  ill  at 

21  Miletus.    Do  your  best  to  come  before  winter. 

Eubulus  salutes  you;  so  do  Pudens,  Linus,  Claudia,  and 
all  the  brotherhood. 

22  The  Lord  Jesus  be  with  your  spirit. 
Grace  be  with  you  all. 


1 


THE  EPISTLE  OF  PAUL  TO 

TITUS 

Paul  a  servant  of  God  and  an  apostle  of  Jesus  Christ 
for  the  faith  of  God's  elect  and  for  their  knowledge  of 

2  the  Truth  that  goes  with  a  religious  life,  serving  in  hope 
of  the  life  eternal  which  God,   who  never  lies,  promised 

3  ages  ago — he  gave  effect  to  his  word  in  due  time  by  a 
proclamation  with  which  I  have  been  entrusted  by  command 

4  of  God  our  Saviour: — to  Titus  my  lawful  son  in  a  faith 
we  hold  in  common;  grace  and  peace  from  God  the  Father 
and  Christ  Jesus  our  Saviour. 

5  I  left  you  behind  in  Crete  in  order  to  finish  putting  things 
right  and  to  appoint  presbyters  in  every  town  as  I  told 

6  you,  men  who  are  above  reproach,  only  once  married,  with 
children  who  believe  and  who  are  not  liable  to  the  charge 

7  of  being  profligate  or  insubordinate.  [For  a  bishop  must 
be  above  reproach — he  is  a  steward  of  God's  house — he  must 
not  be   presumptuous   or   hot-tempered   or   a   drunkard   or 

8  violent  or  addicted  to  pilfering;  he  must  be  hospitable,  a 
lover  of  goodness,  master  of  himself,  a  just  man,  a  reli- 

9  gious  man,  and  abstemious;  he  must  hold  by  the  sure 
truths  of  doctrine  so  as  to  be  able  to  give  instruction  in 

10  sound  doctrine  and  refute  objections  raised  by  any.]*  For 
there  are  plenty  of  insubordinate  creatures  who  impose  on 
people  with  their  empty  arguments,  particularly  those  who 

11  have  come  over  from  Judaism;  they  must  be  silenced,  for 
they  are   undermining  whole   families  by  teaching   objec- 

12  tionable  doctrine  for  the  base  end  of  making  money.  It  has 
been  said  by  one  of  themselves,  by  a  prophet  of  their  own, 
that— 

"Cretans  are  always  liars,  evil  beasts,  lazy  gluttons." 

13  That  is  a  true  statement.     So  deal  sharply  with  them,  to 

14  have  them  sound  in  the  faith  instead  of  studying  Jewish 
myths  and  rules  laid  down  by  men  who  have  discarded  the 

15  Truth.  For  the  pure  all  things  are  pure,  but  nothing  is 
pure  for  the  polluted  and  unbelieving;  their  very  mind  and 

16  conscience  are  polluted.     They  profess  to  know  God,  but 

*  This  passage  seems  to  have  been  added,  rather  awkwardly,  to  the 
original  text. 

324 


TITUS  II,  III  325 

they  deny  him  by  their  deeds;    they  are  detestable,  dis- 
obedient, and  useless  for  good  work  of  any  kind. 

2  You  must  instruct  people  in  what  is  due  to  sound  doc- 
trine.    Tell   the    older   men   to   be   temperate,    serious, 
masters  of  themselves,  sound  in  faith,  in  love,  and  in  sted- 

3  fastness.  Tell  the  older  women  also  to  be  reverent  in  their 
demeanour  and  not  to  be  slanderers  or  slaves  to  drink; 

4  they  must  give  good  counsel,  so  that  the  young  women  may 

5  be  trained  to  love  their  husbands  and  children,  to  be 
mistress  of  themselves,  chaste,  domestic,  kind,  and  sub- 
missive to  their  husbands — otherwise  it  will  be  a  scandal 

6  to   the  gospel.     Tell  the   young   men   also   to   be   masters 

7  of  themselves  at  all  points;   set  them  an  example  of  good 

8  conduct;  be  sincere  and  serious  in  your  teaching,  let  your 
words  be  sound  and  such  that  no  exception  can  be  taken 
to  them,  so  that  the  opposite  side  may  be  confounded  by 

9  finding  nothing  that  they  can  say  to  our  discredit.  Tell 
servants  to  be   submissive   to   their  masters   and   to  give 

10  them  satisfaction  all  round,  not  to  be  refractory,  not  to 
embezzle,  but  to  prove  themselves  truly  faithful  at  all 
points,  so  as  to  be  an  ornament  to  the  doctrine  of  God  our 

11  Saviour  in  all  respects.    For  the  grace  of  God  has  appeared 

12  to  save  all  men,  and  it  schools  us  to  renounce  irreligion 
and  worldly  passions  and  to  live  a  life  of  self-mastery,  of 

13  integrity,  and  of  piety  in  this  present  world,  awaiting  the 
blessed  hope  of  the  appearance  of  the  Glory  of  the  great 

14  God  and  of  our  Saviour  Christ  Jesus,  who  gave  himself 
up  for  us  to  redeem  us  from  all  iniquity  and  secure  himself 
a  clean  people  with  a  zest  for  good  works. 

15  Tell  them  all  this,  exhort  and  reprove,  with  full  au- 
thority; let  no  one  slight  you. 

3  Remind  them  to  be  submissive  to  their  rulers  and  au- 
thorities; they  must  obey,  they  must  be  ready  for  any 

2  good  work,  they  must  abuse  no  one,  they  must  not  quarrel, 
but  be  conciliatory  and  display  perfect  gentleness  to   all 

3  men.  For  we  ourselves  were  once  senseless,  disobedient, 
astray,  enslaved  to  all  manner  of  passions  and  pleasures; 
we  spent  our  days  in  malice  and  envy,  we  were  hateful, 

4  and  we  hated  one  another.    But  "the  goodness  and  affection 

5  of  God  our  Saviour  appeared;  and  he  saved  us,  not  for 
anything  we  had  done  but  from  his  own  pity  for  us,  by 
the  water  that  means  regeneration  and  renewal  under  the 

6  holy  Spirit  which  he  poured  upon  us  richly  through  Jesus 

7  Christ  our  Saviour,  that  we  might  be  justified  by  his  grace 

8  and  become  Jieirs  to  the  hope  of  life  eternal."  It  is  a  sure 
saying. 

I  want  you  to  insist  on  this,  that  those  who  have  faith 


326  TITUS  III 

in   God   must  profess   honest   occupations.     Such  counsels 
i)  are  right  and  good  for  men.    But  avoid  foolish  controversy, 
and  let  genealogies  and  dissensions  and  strife  over  the  Law 
alone,  for  these  are  fruitless  and  futile. 

10  After  a  first  and  a  second  warning  have  no  more  to  do 

11  with  a  factious  person;  you  may  be  sure  a  man  like  that  is 
perverted;   he  is  sin^^ng  and  he  knows  it. 

12  Whenever  I  send  Artemas  or  Tychicus  to  you,  do  your 
best  to  come  to  me  at  Nicopolis,  for  I  have  decided  to  winter 

13  there.      Give    a   hearty    send-off    to    Zenas    the   jurist    and 

14  Apollos;  see  that  they  want  for  nothing.  Our  people  must 
really  learn  to  profess  honest  occupations,  so  as  to  be  able 
to  meet  such  special  occasions;  they  must  not  be  idle. 

15  All  who  are  with  me  salute  you. 
Salute  those  who  love  us  in  the  faith. 
Grace  be  with  you  all. 


THE  EPISTLE  OF  PAUL  TO 

PHILEMON 

IPaul  a  prisoner  of  Christ  Jesus  and  brother  Timotheus, 
to   our  beloved  fellow-worker   Philemon,  to   our   sistei 
Apphia,  to  our  fellow-soldier  Archippus,  and  to  the  church 

3  that  meets  in  your  house:  grace  and  peace  to  you  from 
God  our  Father  and  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

4  '  I   always   thank  my   God  when   I   mention  you   in  my 

5  prayers;  for  as  I  hear  of  your  love  and  loyalty  to  the  Lord 

6  Jesus  and  to  all  the  saints,  I  pray  that  by  their  participa- 
tion in  your  loyal  faith  they  may  have  a  vivid  sense  of  how 
much  good  we  *  Christians  can  attain. 

7  I  have  had  great  joy  and  encouragement  over  your  love, 
my  brother,  over  the  way  you  have  refreshed  the  hearts 

8  of  the  saints.    Hence,  although  in  Christ  I  would  feel  quite 

9  free  to  order  you  to  do  your  duty,  I  prefer  to  appeal  to  you 
on  the  ground  of  love.     Well  then,  as  Paul  the  old  man, 

10  who  now-a-days  is  a  prisoner  for  Christ  Jesus,  I  appeal  to 
you  on  behalf  of  my  spiritual  son  born  while  I  was  in 

11  prison.  It  is  Onesimus!  Once  you  found  him  a  worthless 
character,  but  now-a-days  he  is  worth  something  to  you  and 

12  me.     I  am  sending  him  back  to  you,  and  parting  with  my 

13  very  heart.  I  would  have  liked  to  keep  him  beside  me, 
that  as  your  deputy  he  might  serve  me  during  my  imprison- 

14  ment  for  the  gospel;  but  I  did  not  want  to  do  anything 
without  your  consent,  so  that  your  goodness  to  me  might 
come  of  your  own  free  will,  without  any  appearance  of 
constraint. 

15  Perhaps  this  was  why  you  and  he  were  parted  for  a 

16  while,  that  you  might  get  him  back  for  good,  no  longer  a 
mere  slave  but  something  more  than  a  slave — a  beloved 
brother;  especially  dear  to  me  but  how  much  more  to  you 

17  as  a  man  and  as  a  Christian!     You  count  me  a  partner? 

18  Then  receive  him  as  you  would  receive  me,  and  if  he  has 
cheated  you  of  any  money  or  owes  you  any  sum,  put  that 

19  down  to  my  account.     This  is  in  my  own  handwriting:   'I 

*  Reading  v/iiv  instead  of  vfjuv.  As  Lightfoot  observes,  "  scribes 
would  be  strongly  tempted  to  alter  vfxTv  into  vfuv  from  a  misapprehension 
of  the  sense,  and  a  wish  to  apply  the  words  to  Philemon  and  his  house- 
hold." 

327 


328  PHILEMON 

Paul  promise  to  refund  it' — not  to  mention  that  you  owe 

20  me,  over  and  above,  your  very  soul.  Come,  brother,  let  me 
have  some  return  from  you  in  the  Lord!  Refresh  my  heart 
in  Christ. 

21  I  send  you  this  letter  relying  on  your  obedience;  I  know 

22  you  will  do  even  more  than  I  tell  you.  And  get  quarters 
ready  for  me,  for  I  am  hoping  that  by  your  prayers  I  shall 
be  restored  to  you. 

23  Epaphras  my  fellow-prisoner  in  Christ  Jesus  salutes  you. 

24  So  do  Mark,  Aristarchus,  Demas  and  Luke,  my  fellow- 
workers. 

25  The  grace  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  be  with  your  spirit. 
Amen. 


1 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE 

HEBREWS 

Many  were  the  forms  and  fashions  in  which  God  spoke 
of  old  to  our  fathers  by  the  prophets,  but  in  these  days 
at  the  end  he  has  spoken  to  us  by  a  Son — a  Son  whom  he 
appointed  heir  of  the  universe,  as  it  was  by  him  that  he 

3  created  the  world.  He,  reflecting  God's  bright  glory  and 
stamped  with  God's  own  character,  sustains  the  universe 
with  his  word  of  power;  when  he  had  secured  our  purifica- 
tion  from    sins,   he   sat    down   at   the   right   hand   of   the 

4  Majesty  on  high;  and  thus  he  is  superior  to  the  angels,  as 

5  he  has  inherited  a  Name  superior  to  theirs.  For  to  what 
angel  did  God  ever  say, 

'TJiou  art  7ny  son, 

to-day  have  I  'become  thy  father'? 
Or  again, 
'I  will  he  a  father  to  him, 

and  he  shall  he  a  son  to  me'? 

6  And  further,  when  introducing  the  Firstborn  into  the 
world,  he  says, 

'Let  all  God's  angels  ivorship  himJ 

7  While  he  says  of  angels, 

'Who  makes  his  angels  into  loinds, 
his  servants  into  flames   of  fire,' 

8  he  says  of  the  Son, 

'God  is  thy  throne  for  ever  and  ever^ 

thy  royal  sceptre  is  the  sceptre  of  equity: 

9  thou  hast  loved  justice  and  hated  lawlessness,* 
therefore  God,  thy  God,  has  consecrated  thee 
toith  the  oil  of  rejoicing  heyond  thy  comrades* — 

10  and, 

'Thou  didst  found  the  earth  at  the  beginning,  0  Lord, 
and  the  heavens  are  the  work  of  thy  hands; 

11  they  will  perish,  but  thou  remainest, 
they  ivill  all  be  worn  out  like  a  gartnent, 

12  thou  wilt  roll  them  up  like  a  mantle  and  t  they  will  be 

changed, 

*  Reading  avof-dav  instead  of  dSiKlav. 

t  Omitting  [ws  i/xdriov],  which  has  been  repeated  from  the  previous  line. 

329 


2 


330  HEBREWS  II 

hut  thou  art  the  same, 

and  thy  years  icill  never  fail.' 

13  To  what  angel  did  he  ever  say, 

'Sit  at  my  right  hand, 

till  I  make  your  enemies  a  footstool  for  your  feet'f 

14  Are  not  all  angels  merely  spirits  in  the  divine  service, 
commissioned  for  the  benefit  of  those  who  are  to  inherit 
salvation? 

We  must  therefore  pay  closer  attention  to  what  we  have 
heard,  in  case  we  drift  away.     For  if  the  divine  word 
spoken  by  angels  held  good,  if  transgression  and  disobedi- 

3  ence  met  with  due  punishment  in  every  case,  how  shall  we 
escape  the  penalty  for  neglecting  a  salvation  which  was 
originally  proclaimed  by  the  Lord  himself  and  guaranteed 

4  to  us  by  those  who  heard  him,  while  God  corroborated  their 
testimony  with  signs  and  wonders  and  a  variety  of  miracu- 
lous powers,  distributing  the  holy  Spirit  as  it  pleased  him. 

5  For  the  world  to  come,  of  which  I  am  speaking,  was  not 

6  put  under  the  control  of  angels.  One  writer,  as  we  know, 
has  affirmed. 

What  is  man,  that  thou  art  mindful  of  him? 
or  the  son  of  man,  that  thou  carest  for  him? 

7  For  a  little  while  thou  hast  'put  him  lower  than  the 

angels, 
crowning  him  with  glory  and  honour, 

8  putting  all  things  under  his  feet* 

Now  by  putting  all  things  under  him,  the  writer  meant  to 
leave  nothing  out  of  his  control.     But,  as  it  is,  we  do  not 

9  yet  see  all  things  controlled  by  man;  what  we  do  see  is 
Jesus  ivho  icas  put  lower  than  the  angels  for  a  little  while 
to  suffer  death,  and  who  has  been  crowned  with  glory  and 
honour  that  by  God's  grace  he  might  taste  death  for  every- 

10  one.  In  bringing  many  sons  to  glory,  it  was  befitting  that 
He  for  whom   and  by  whom   the  universe   exists,   should 

11  perfect  the  Pioneer  of  their  salvation  by  suffering.  For 
sanctifier  and  sanctified  have  all  one  origin.     That  is  why 

12  he  is  not  ashamed  to  call  them  brothers,  saying, 

'/  ivill  proclaim  thy  name  to  my  brothers, 

in  the  midst  of  the  church  I  will  sing  of  thee,' 

13  and  again, 

'7  will  put  my  trust  in  him,' 
and  again, 
'Here  am  I  and  the  children  Ood  has  given  me.* 

14  Since  the  children  then  share  blood  and  flesh,  he  himself 
participated  in  their  nature,  so  that  by  dying  he  might 
crush  him  who  wields  the  power  of  death  (that  is  to  say, 

•  *  Omitting  nal  KaTiCTrjcras  avrbv  ini  tcl  fftya  tQ)v  xcipwi/  cov. 


HEBREWS  III  331 

15  the  devil)  and  release  from  thraldom  those  who  lay  under 

16  a  life-long  fear  of  death.     (For  of  course  it  is  not  angels 

17  that  lie  succours,  it  is  the  offspring  of  Abraham.)  He  had 
to  resemble  his  brothers  in  every  respect,  in  order  to  prove 
a  merciful  and  faithful  high  priest  in  things  divine,  to 

18  expiate  the  sins  of  the  People.  It  is  as  he  suffered  by  his 
temptations  that  he  is  able  to  help  the  tempted. 

3  Holy  brothers,  you  who  participate  in  a  heavenly  calling, 
look  at  Jesus  then,  at  the  apostle  and  high  priest  of  our 

2  confession;  he  is  faithful  to  Him  who  appointed  him.    For 
while  Moses  also  was  faithful  in  every  department  of  Ood's 

3  house,  Jesus  has  been  adjudged  greater  glory  than  Moses, 
inasmuch  as  the  founder  of  a  house  enjoys  greater  honour 

4  than  the  house  itself.     (Every  house  is  founded  by  someone, 

5  but  God  is  the  founder  of  all.)     Besides,  while  Moses  was 
faithful  in  every  department  of  God's  house  as  an  attendant 

6  — by  way  of  witness  to  the  coming  revelation — Christ  is 
faithful  as  a  Son  over  God's  house. 

Now  we  are  this  house  of  God,  if  we  will  only  keep  confi- 

7  dent  and  proud  of  our  hope.*    Therefore,  as  the  holy  Spirit 
says. 

To-day,  when  you  hear  his  voice, 

8  harden  not  your  hearts  as  at  the  Provocation^ 
on  the  day  of  the  Temptation  in  the  desert, 

9  where  your  fathers  put  me  to  the  proof, 

and  for  forty  years  felt  what  I  could  do. 

10  Therefore  I  grew  exasperated  with  that  generation, 

I  said,  'They  are  always  astray  in  their  heart': 
They  would  not  learn  my  ways; 

11  so  I  swore  in  my  anger, 

'they  shall  never  enter  my  Rest.' 

12  Brothers,  take  care  in  case  there  is  a  wicked,  unbelieving 
heart  in  any  of  you,  moving  you  to  apostatize  from  the  liv- 

13  ing  God.  Rather  admonish  ore  another  daily,  so  long  as 
this   word   To-day   is   uttered,   that   none   of   you   may   be 

14  deceived  by  sin  and  hardened.  For  we  only  participate  in 
Christ  provided  that  we  keep  firm  to  the  very  end   the 

15  confidence  with  which  we  started,  this  word  ever  sounding 
in  our  ears. 

To-day,  when  you  hear  his  voice, 

harden  not  your  hearts  as  at  the  Provocation. 

16  Who  heard  and  yet  provoked  him?    Was  it  not  all  who  left 

17  Egypt  under  the  leadership  of  Moses?  And  with  whom 
was  he  exasperated  for  forty  years?    Was  it  not  with  those 

18  who  sinned,  whose  corpses  fell  in  the  desert?    And  to  whom 

*  Omitting  Mexpt  rdXovs  ^e^alav,  which  has  probably  been  inserted  from 
ver.  14,  where  the  same  words  occur  in  a  similar  connexion. 


332  HEBREWS  IV,  V 

did  he  swear  that  they  would  never  enter  his  Rest?    To 
whom  but  those  who  disobeyed?    Thus  we  see  it  was  owing 

4  to    unbelief    that     they    could    not     enter.  "Well 

then,    as    the    promise    of    entrance    is    still    left    to 
us,    let    us    be    afraid    of    anyone    being   judged   to    have 

2  missed  it.  For  we  have  had  the  good  news  as  well  as  they; 
only,    the   message   they   heard   was    of    no    use    to    them, 

3  because  it  did  not  meet  with  *  faith  in  the  hearers.  For' we 
do  enter  the  Rest  by  our  faith:  according  to  his  word, 

As  I  sivore  in  my  anger, 
they  shall  never  enter  my  Rest — 
although  his  works  were  all  over  by  the  foundation  of  the 

4  world.  For  he  says  this  somewhere  about  the  seventh  day: 
And  God  rested  from  all  his  works  on  the  seventh  day. 

5  And  again  in  this  passage,  they  shall  never  enter  my  Rest. 

6  Since  then  it  is  reserved  for  some  to  enter  it,  and  since 
those  who  formerly  got  the  good  news  failed  to  enter  owing 

7  to  their  disobedience,  he  again  fixes  a  day;  To-day — as  he 
says  in  'David'  after  so  long  an  interval,  and  as  has  been 
already  quoted — 

To-day,  when  you  hear  his  voice, 
harden  not  your  hearts. 

8  Thus  if  Joshua  had  given  them  Rest,  God  would  not  speak 

9  later  about  another  day.     There   is  a  sabbath-Rest,  then, 

10  reserved  still  for  the  People  of  God  (for  once  a  man  enters 
his  rest,  he  rests  from  luork  just  as  God  did). 

11  Let  us  be  eager  then  to  enter  that  Rest,  in  case  anyone 

12  falls  into  the  same  sort  of  disobedience.  For  the  Logos  of 
God  is  a  living  thing,  active  and  more  cutting  than  any 
sword  with  double  edge,  penetrating  to  the  very  division  of 
soul  and  spirit,  joints  and  marrow — scrutinizing  the  very 

13  thoughts  and  conceptions  of  the  heart.  And  no  created 
thing  is  hidden  from  him;  all  things  lie  open  and  exposed 
before  the  eyes  of  him  with  whom  we  have  to  reckon. 

14  As  we  have  a  great  high  priest,  then,  who  has  passed 
through  the  heavens,  Jesus  the  Son  of  God,  let  us  hold  fast 

15  to  our  confession;  for  ours  is  no  high  priest  who  is  in- 
capable of  sympathizing  with  our  weaknesses,  but  one  who 
has  been  tempted  in  every  respect  like  ourselves,  yet  with- 

16  out  sinning.  So  let  us  approach  the  throne  of  grace  with 
confidence,  that  we  may  receive  mercy  and  find  grace  to 
help  us  in  the  hour  of  need. 

5  Every    high    priest    who    is    selected    from    men    and 
appointed  to  act  on  behalf  of  men  in  things  divine,  offer- 

*  Roading  a-vyK€K€paa-fj.dvos  or  avyKCKpa/x^vos  with  J<,  the  Old  Latin,  the 
Peshitto,  etc. 


HEBREWS  VI  333 

2  ing  gifts  and  sacrifices  for  sins,  can  deal  gently  with  those 
who  err  through  ignorance,  since  he  himself  is  beset  with 

3  weakness — which  obliges  him  to  present  offerings  for  his 

4  own  sins  as  well  as  for  those  of  the  People.  Also,  it  is 
an  office  which  no  one  elects  to  take  for  himself;    he  is 

5  called  to  it  by  God,  just  as  Aaron  was.  Similarly  Christ 
was  not  raised  to  the  glory  of  the  high  priesthood  by  him- 
self but  by  Him  who  declared  to  him, 

Thou  art  7}iy  son, 

to-day  have  I  become  thy  father. 

6  Just  as  elsewhere  he  says, 

Thou  art  a  priest  for  ever,  loith  the  rank  of  Melchizedeh. 

7  In  the  days  of  his  flesh,  with  bitter  cries  and  tears,  he 
offered  prayers  and  supplications  to  Him  who  was  able  to 
save  him  from  death;    and  he  was  heard,  because  of  his 

8  godly  fear.     Thus,  Son  though  he  was,  he  learned  by  all 

9  he  suffered  how  to  obey,  and  by  being  thus  perfected  he 
became  the  source  of  eternal  salvation  for  all  who  obey 

10  him,  being  designated  by  God  high  priest  with  the  rank  of 
Melchizedek. 

11  On  this  point  I  have  a  great  deal  to  say,  which  it  is  hard 
to  make  intelligible  to  you.     For  you  have  grown  dull  of 

12  hearing.  Though  by  this  time  you  should  be  teaching 
other  people,  you  still  need  someone  to  teach  you  once  more 
the  rudimentary  principles  of  the  divine  revelation.     You 

13  are  in  need  of  milk,  not  of  solid  food.  (For  anyone  who 
is  fed  on  milk  is  unskilled  in  moral  truth;   he  is  a  mere 

14  babe.  Whereas  solid  food  is  for  the  mature,  for  those  who 
have  their  faculties  trained  by  exercise  to  distinguish  good 
and  evil.) 

6  Let  us  pass  on  then  to  what  is  mature,  leaving  elemen- 
tary Christian   doctrine  behind,   instead  of  laying  the 
foundation  over  again  with  repentance  from  dead  works, 

2  with  faith  in  God,  with  instruction  about  ablutions  and  the 
laying  on  of  hands,  about  the  resurrection  of  the  dead  and 

3  eternal  punishment.     With  God's  permission,  we  will  take 

4  this  step.*  For  in  the  case  o:  people  who  have  been  once 
enlightened,  who  tasted  the  heavenly  Gift,  who  participated 

5  in  the  holy  Spirit,  who  tasted  the  goodness  of  God's  word 
and  the  powers  of  the  world  to  come,  and  then  fell  away 

6  — it  is  impossible  to  make  them  repent  afresh,  since  they 
crucify  the  Son  of  God  in  their  own  persons  and  hold  him 

7  up  to  obloquy.  For  land  which  absorbs  the  rain  that  often 
falls  on  it,  and  bears  plants  that  are  useful  to  those  for 

♦Heading:    Tronjor/iej'    with   i<  B,   the  Latin  version,  etc.,  instead  of 


334  HEBREWS  VII 

8  whom  it  is  tilled,  receives  a  blessing  from  God;  whereas, 
if  it  produces  thorns  and  thistles,  it  is  reprobate  and  on 
the  verge  of  being  cursed — its  fate  is  to  be  burned. 

9  Though  I  say  this,  beloved,  I  feel  sure  you  will  take  the 

10  better  course  that  means  salvation.  God  is  not  unfair; 
he  will  not  forget  what  you  have  done,  or  the  love  you  have 
shown  for  his  sake  in  ministering,  as  you  still  do,  to  the 

11  saints.  It  is  my  heart's  desire  that  each  of  you  would  prove 
equally  keen  upon  realizing  your  full  hope  to  the  very  end, 

12  so  that  instead  of  being  slack  you  may  imitate  those  who 
inherit  the  promises  by  their  stedfast  faith. 

13  For  in  making  a  promise  to  Abraham  God  swore  ty  him- 

14  self  (since  he  could  swear  by  none  greater),  /  loill  indeed 

15  hless  you  and  multiply  you.  Thus  it  was  that  Abraham 
by  his  stedfastness  obtained  what  he  had  been  promised. 

16  For  as  men  swear  by  a  greater  than  themselves,  and  as  an 

17  oath  means  to  them  a  guarantee  that  ends  any  dispute,  God, 
in  his  desire  to  afford  the  heirs  of  the  Promise  a  special 
proof  of  the  solid  character  of  his  purpose,  interposed  with 

18  an  oath;  so  that  by  these  two  solid  facts  (the  Promise  and 
the  Oath),  where  it  is  impossible  for  God  to  be  false,  we 
refugees   might   have    strong   encouragement   to   seize    the 

19  hope  set  before  us,  anchoring  the  soul  to  it  safe  and  sure,  as 
it  enters  the  inner  Presence  'behind  the  veil. 

20  There  Jesus  entered  for  us  in  advance,  when  he  became 
high  priest  for  ever  with  the  rank  of  Melchizedek.  For 
Melchizedek,   the  king  of  Salem,  a  priest  of  the  Most 

High    God,    who    met   Abraham    on   his   return   from    the 

2  slaughter  of  the  kings  and  blessed  him — who  had  a  tenth 
part  of  everything  assigned  him  by  Abraham — this  Melchi- 
zedek is  primarily  a  king  of  righteousness  (that  is  the 
meaning  of  his  name);   then,  besides  that,  king  of  Salem 

3  (which  means,  king  of  peace).  He  has  neither  father  nor 
mother  nor  genealogy,  neither  a  beginning  to  his  days  nor 
an  end  of  his  life,  but,  resembling  the  Son  of  God,  continues 

4  to  be  priest  permanently.  Now  mark  the  dignity  of  this 
man.     The  patriarch  Abraham  paid   him   a   tenth   of  the 

5  spoils.  Those  sons  of  Levi  who  receive  the  priestly  office 
are  indeed  ordered  bylaw  to  tithe  the  people  (that  is,  their 
brothers),   although  the  latter  are   descended   from  Abra- 

6  ham;  but  he  who  had  no  Levitical  genealogy  actually  tithed 

7  Abraham  and  blessed  the  possessor  of  the  promises!  (And 
there  is  no  question  that  it  is  the  inferior  who  is  blessed  by 

8  the  superior.)  Again,  it  is  mortal  men  in  the  one  case  who 
receive  tithes,  while  in  the  other  it  is  one  of  whom  the 

9  witness  is  that  'he  lives.'  In  fact,  we  might  almost  say 
that  even  Levi  the  receiver  of  tithes  paid  tithes  through 

10  Abraham;  for  he  was  still  in  the  loins  of  his  father  when 


7 


HEBREWS  VIII  335 

11  Mf  izedek  met  Mm.  Further,  if  the  Levitical  priesthood 
ha  ,  >een  the  means  of  reaching  perfection  (for  it  was  on 
th  asis  of  that  priesthood  that  the  Law  was  enacted  for 
th  ,*eople),  why  was  it  still  necessary  for  another  sort  of 
p  '    it  to  emerge  with  the  rank  of  Melchizedek,  instead  of 

12  s      Ay  with  the  rank  of  Aaron   (for  when  the  priesthood 

13  i  aanged,  a  change  of  law  necessarily  follows)  ?  He  who 
>^    hus  described  belongs  to  another  tribe,  no  member  of 

14  r  .ch  ever  devoted  himself  to  the  altar;  for  it  is  evident 
'.    A  our  Lord  sprang  from  Judah,  and  Moses  never  men- 

15  ned    priesthood    in    connexion    with    that    tribe.      This 
3omes  all  the  more  plain  when  another  priest  emerges 

16  r  ^eniMing  Melchizedek,  one  who  has  become  a  priest  by 
the  power  of  an  indissoluble  Life  and  not  by  the  law  of  an 

Yi  external  command;  for  the  witness  to  him  is, 

Thou  art  priest  for  ever,  with  the  rank  of  Melchizedek. 
IS  A  previous  command  is  set  aside  on  account  of  its  weak- 
li*  ness  and  uselessness  (for  the  Law  made  nothing  perfect), 
and  there  is  introduced  a  better  Hope,  by  means  of  which 
we  can  draw  near  to  God.  A  better  Hope,  because  it  was 
not  promised  apart  from  an  oath.  Previous  priests  became 
priests  apart  from  any  oath,  but  he  has  an  oath  from  Him 
who  said  to  him. 

The  Lord  has  sworn,  and  he  will  not  change  his  mind, 
thou  art  a  priest  for  ever. 
And   this   makes   Jesus   surety   for   a   superior   covenant. 
Also,  while  they  became  priests  in  large  numbers,   since 
X  death  prevents  them  from  continuing  to  serve,  he  holds  his 
priesthood  without  any  successor,  since  he  continues  for 
0  ever.     Hence  for  all  time  he  is  able  to  save  those  who 
approach  God  through  him,  as  he  is  always  living  to  inter- 
cede on  their  behalf. 
.6       Such  was  the  high  priest  for  us,  saintly,  innocent,  un- 
stained, lifted  high  above  the  heavens,  far  from  all  contact 

27  with  the  sinful,  one  who  has  no  need,  like  yonder  high 
priests,  day  by  day  to  offer  sacrifices  first  for  their  own  sins 
and  then  for  those  of  the  People — he  did  that  once  for  all 

28  in  offering  up  himself.  For  the  Law  appoints  human  beings 
in  their  w^eakness  to  the  priesthood;  but  the  word  of  the 
Oath  appoints  a  Son  who  is  made  perfect  for  ever. 

The  point  *  of  all  this  is,  we  do  have  such  a  high  priest, 
one   who    is   seated   at   the   right   hand   of   the   throne 

2  of  Majesty  in  the  heavens,  and  who  officiates  in  the  sanc- 
tuary or  true  taiernacle  set  up  'by  the  Lord  and  not  by 

3  man.    Now,  as  every  high  priest  is  appointed  to  offer  gifts 


8 


*  Or,  as  Coverdale  translates,  "the  pith."     "All  this"  means  "all 
the  previous  argument." 


336  HEBREWS  IX 

4  and  sacrifices,  he  too  must  have  something  to  offer.  Were 
he  on  earth,  he  would  not  be  a  priest  at  all,  for  there  are 

5  priests  already  to  offer  the  gifts  prescribed  by  Law  (men 
who  serve  a  mere  outline  and  shadow  of  the  heavenly — 
as  Moses  was  instructed,  when  he  was  about  to  execute  the 
building  of  the  tabernacle:  see,  God  said,  tTiat  you  make 
everything  on  the  pattern  shown  you  upon  the  mountain). 

6  As  it  is,  however,  the  divine  service  he  has  obtained  is 
superior,  owing  to  the  fact  that  he  mediates  a  superior 

7  covenant,  enacted  with  superior  promises.  For  if  the  first 
covenant  had  been  faultless,  there  would  have  been  no  occa- 

8  sion  for  a  second.  Whereas  God  does  find  fault  with  the 
people  of  that  covenant,  when  he  says: 

The  day  is  coming,  saith  the  Lord, 

when  I  will  conclude  a  new  covenant  ivith  the  house  of 

Israel  and  ivith  the  house  of  Judah. 
It  will  not  he  on  the  lines  of  the  covenant  I  made  with 

their  fathers, 

9  on  the  day  I  took  them  hy  the  hand  to  lead  out  of  Egypt's 

land  ; 
for  they  would  not  hold  to  my  covenant, 
so  I  let  them  alone  *  saith  the  Lord. 

10  This  is  the  covenant  I  will  make  with  the  house  of  Israel 

when  that  day  comes,  saith  the  Lord; 
I  will  set  my  laws  within  their  mind, 
inscribing  them  upon  their  hearts; 
I  will  he  a  God  to  them, 
and  they  shall  he  a  People  to  me; 

11  one  citizen  will  no  longer  teach  his  fellow, 
one  man  will  no  longer  teach  his  hrother, 
saying,  'Know  the  Lord,' 

for  all  will  know  me,  low  and  high  together. 

12  /  will  he  merciful  to  their  iniquities, 
and  rememher  their  sins  no  more. 

13  By  saying  *a  new  covenant,'  he  antiquates  the  first.  And 
whatever  is  antiquated  and  aged  is  on  the  verge  of 
vanishing. 

9  The  first  covenant  had  indeed  its  regulations  for  wor- 
ship and  a  material  sanctuary.     A  tent  was  set  up,  the 
outer  tent,  containing  the  lampstand.   the  table,   and  the 

3  loaves  of  the  Presence;  this  is  called  the  Holy  place.  But 
behind   the   second  veil  was   the   tent  called   the   Holy   of 

4  Holies,  containing  the  golden  altar  of  incense,  and  also  the 
ark  of  the  covenant  covered  all  over  with  gold,  which  held 
the   golden   pot   of   manna,   the   rod   of   Aaron   that   once 

*  The  same  Greek  word  as  is  translated  "  neglected  "  in  ii.  3. 


HEBREWS  IX  337 

5  blossomed,  and  the  tablets  of  the  covenant;  above  this 
were  the  cherubims  of  the  Glory,  overshadowing  the  mercy 
seat — matters  which  it  is  impossible  for  me  to  discuss  at 

6  present  in  detail.  Such  were  the  arrangements  for  worship. 
The  priests  constantly  enter  the  first  tent,  in  the  discharge 

7  of  their  ritual  duties,  but  the  second  tent  is  entered  only 
once  a  year  by  the  high  priest  alone — and  it  must  not  be 
without  blood,  which  he  presents  on  behalf  of  himself  and 

8  the  errors  of  the  People.  By  this  the  holy  Spirit  means 
that  the  way  into  the  Holiest  Presence  was  not  disclosed 

9  so  long  as  the  first  tent  (which  foreshadowed  the  present 
age)  was  still  standing,  with  its  offerings  of  gifts  and  sacri- 
fices  which   cannot  possibly   make   the   conscience   of   the 

10  worshipper  perfect,  since  they  relate  merely  to  food  and 
drink  and  a  variety  of  ablutions — outward  regulations  for 
the  body,  that  only  hold  till  the  period  of  the  New  Order. 

11  But  when  Christ  arrived  as  the  high  priest  of  the  bliss 
that  was  to  be,  he  passed  through  the  greater  and  more 
perfect  tent  which  no  hands  had  made    (no  part,  that  is 

12  to  say,  of  the  present  order),  not  taking  any  blood  of 
goats  and  oxen  but  his  own  blood,  and  entered  once  for  all 
into  the  Holy  place.     He  secured  an  eternal  redemption. 

13  For  if  the  blood  of  goats  and  bulls  and  the  ashes  of  a 
heifer,  sprinkled  on  defiled  persons,  give  them  a  holiness 

14  that  bears  on  bodily  purity,  how  much  more  shall  the  blood 
of  Christ,  who  in  the  spirit  of  the  eternal  offered  himself 
as  an  unblemished  sacrifice  to  God,  cleanse  your  conscience 

15  from  dead  works  to  serve  a  living  God?  He  mediates  a  new 
covenant  for  this  reason,  that  those  who  have  been  called 
may  obtain  the  eternal  inheritance  they  have  been  prom- 
ised, now  that  a  death  has  occurred  which  redeems  them 
from   the    transgressions    involved    in    the    first    covenant. 

16  Thus  in  the  case  of  a  will,  the  death  of  the  testator  must  be 

17  announced.    A  will  only  holds  in  cases  of  death;  it  is  never 

18  valid  so  long  as  the  testator  is  alive.  Hence  even  the  first 
covenant   of  God's   will   was   not   inaugurated   apart   from 

19  blood;  for  after  Moses  had  announced  every  command  in 
the  Law  to  all  the  people,  he  took  the  blood  of  calves  and 
goats,    together    with    water,    scarlet    wool    and    hyssop, 

20  sprinkling  the  book  and  all  the  people,  and  saying.  This  is 
the  blood  of  that  covenant  which  is  God's  command  for  you. 

21  He  even  sprinkled  with  blood  the  tent  and  all  the  utensils 

22  of  worship  in  the  same  way.  In  fact,  one  might  almost  say 
that  by  Law  everything  is  cleansed  with  blood.     No  blood 

23  shed,  no  remission  of  sins!  Now,  while  the  copies  of  the 
heavenly  things  had  to  be  cleansed  with  sacrifices  like 
these,    the    heavenly    things    themselves    required    nobler 

24  sacrifices.     For  Christ  has  not  entered  a  holy  place  which 


338  HEBREWS  X 

human  hands  have  made  (a  mere  type  of  the  reality!); 
he  has  entered  heaven  itself,  now  to  appear  in  the  presence 

25  of  God  on  our  behalf.  Nor  was  it  to  offer  himself  re- 
peatedly, like  the  high  priest  entering  the  holy  place  every 

26  year  with  blood  that  was  not  his  own: — for  in  that  case 
he  would  have  had  to  suffer  repeatedly,  ever  since  the  world 
was  founded.     Nay,  once  for  all,  at  the  end  of  the  world, 

27  he  has  appeared  with  his  self-sacrifice  to  abolish  sin.  And 
just  as  it  is  appointed  for  men  to  die  once  and  after  that 

28  to  be  judged,  so  Christ,  after  being  once  sacrificed  to  bear 
the  sins  of  many,  will  appear  again,  not  to  deal  with 
sin  but  for  the  saving  of  those  who  look  out  *  for  him. 

1  f\  For  as  the  Law  has  a  mere  shadow  of  the  bliss  that 
■1  ^  is  to  be,  instead  of  representing  the  reality  of  that 
bliss,  it  can  never  perfect  those  who  draw  near  with  the 

2  same  annual  sacrifices  that  are  perpetually  offered.  Other- 
wise, they  would  surely  have  ceased  to  be  offered;  for  the 
worshippers,  once  cleansed,  would  no  longer  be  conscious 

3  of  sins!      As  it  is,  they  are  an  annual  reminder  of  sins 

4  (for  the  blood  of  bulls  and  goats  cannot  possibly  remove 

5  sins!).     Hence,  on  entering  the  world  he  says. 

Thou  hast  no  desire  for  sacrifice  or  offerings- 
it  is  a  body  thou  hast  prepared  for  me — 

6  in  holocausts  and  sin-offerings  thou  takest  no  delight. 

7  So  I  said,  'Here  I  come — in  the  roll  of  the  book  this  is 

written  of  me — 
I  come  to  do  thy  will,  0  God.' 

8  He  begins  by  saying,  thou  hast  no  desire  for.  thoti  takest 
no  delight  in,  sacrifices  and  offerings  and  holocausts  and 
sin-offerings   (and  these  are  what  are  offered  in  terms  of 

9  the  Law) ;  he  then  adds,  Here  I  come  to  do  thy  will.  He 
does  away  with  the  first  in  order  to  establish  the  second. 

10  And  it  is  by  this  loill  that  we  are  consecrated,  because  Jesus 
Christ  once  for  all  has  offered  up  his  body. 

11  Again,  while  every  priest  t  stands  daily  at  his  service, 
offering    the    same    sacrifices    repeatedly,    sacrifices    which 

12  never  can  take  sins  away — He  offered  a  single  sacrifice 
for  sins  and  then  seated  himself  for  all  time  at  the  right 

13  hand  of  God,  to  wait  until  his  enemies  are  made  a  footstool 

14  for  his  feet.     For  by  a  single  offering  he  has   made  the 

15  sanctified  perfect  for  all  time.  Besides,  we  have  the  testi- 
mony of  the  holy  Spirit;  for  after  saying, 

16  This  is  the  covenant  I  luill  make  ivith  them  when  that  day 

comes,  saith  the  Lord, 

*  Paul's  word  in  Phil.  iii.  20;  but  I  translate  "look  out  "  here,  in  order 
to  suggest  the  antithesis  in  x.  27. 
t  Reading  Upevs  instead  of  apx^epfi'S . 


HEBREWS  X  339 

I  will  set  my  laws  upon  their  hearts, 
inscribing  them  upon  their  minds, 
he  adds, 

17  And  their  sins  and  breaches  of  the  law  I  will  remember 

no  more. 

18  Now  where  these  are  remitted,  an  offering  for  sin  exists 
no  longer. 

19  Brothers,    since   we   have    confidence   to   enter   the   holy 

20  Presence  in  virtue  of  the  blood  of  Jesus,  by  the  fresh,  liv- 
ing way  which  he  has  inaugurated  for  us  through  the  veil 

21  (that  is,  through  his  flesh),  and  since  we  have  a  great  Priest 

22  over  the  house  of  God,  let  us  draw  near  with  a  true  heart, 
in  absolute  assurance  of  faith,  our  hearts  sprinkled  clean 
from   a  bad   conscience,   and   our  bodies   washed   in   pure 

23  water;    let  us  hold  the  hope  we  avow  without  wavering 

24  (for  we  can  rely  on  him  who  gave  us  the  Promise) ;  and  let 
us  consider  how  to  stir  up  one  another  to  love  and  good 

25  deeds — not  ceasing  to  meet  together,  as  is  the  habit  of  some, 
but  admonishing  one  another,  all  the  more  so,  as  you  see 

26  the  Day  coming  near.  For  if  we  sin  deliberately,  after 
receiving  the  knowledge  of  the  Truth,  there  is  no  longer 

27  any  sacrifice  for  sins  left,  nothing  but  an  awful  outlook 
of  doom,  of  that  burning  Wrath  which  will  consume  the 

28  foes  of  God.  Anyone  who  has  rejected  the  law  of  Moses 
dies  without  mercy,   on  the  evidence  of  two   or  of  three 

29  ivitnesses.  How  much  heavier,  do  you  suppose,  will  be 
the  punishment  assigned  to  him  who  has  spurned  the  Son 
of  God,  who  has  profaned  the  covenant-blood  with  which 
he  was  sanctified,  who  has  insulted  the  Spirit  of  grace? 

30  We  know  who  said,  Vengeance  is  mine,  I  will  exact  a  re- 
quital: and  again,  The  Lord  will  pass  sentence  on  his  peo- 

31  pie.  It  is  an  awful  thing  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  the 
living  God. 

32  Recall  the  former  days  when,  after  you  were  enlightened, 

33  you  endured  a  hard  struggle  of  suffering,  partly  by  being 
held  up  yourselves  to  obloquy  and  anguish,  partly  by  mak- 

34  ing  common  cause  with  those  who  fared  in  this  way;  for 
you  did  sympathize  with  the  prisoners,  and  you  took  the 
confiscation  of  your  own  belongings  cheerfully,  conscious 
that  elsewhere  you  had  higher,  you  had  lasting,  possessions. 

35  Now  do  not  drop  that  confidence  of  yours;   it  carries  with 

36  it  a  rich  hope  of  reward.  Steady  patience  is  what  you  need, 
so  that  after  doing  the  will  of  God  you  may  get  what  you 

37  have  been  promised.    For  in  a  little,  a  very  little  now, 

The  Coming  One  tvill  arrive  without  delay. 

38  Meantime  my  just  man  shall  live  on  by  his  faith; 

if  he  shrinks  bach,  my  soul  takes  no  delight  in  him. 


340  HEBREWS  XI 


11 


39  We  are  not  the  men  to  shrink  back  and  be  lost,  but  to  have 
faith  and  so  to  win  our  souls. 

Now  faith  means  we  are  confident  of  what  we  hope 
for,   convinced   of  what  we  do  not  see.     It  was  for 

3  this  that  the  men  of  old  won  their  record.  It  is  by  faith 
we  understand  that  the  world  was  fashioned  by  the  word 
of  God,  and  thus  the  visible  was  made  out  of  the  invisible. 

4  It  was  by  faith  that  Abel  offered  God  a  richer  sacrifice  than 
Cain  did,  and  thus  won  from  God  the  record  of  being  'just,' 
on  the  score  of  what  he  gave;    he  died,  but  by  his  faith 

5  he  is  speaking  to  us  still.  It  was  by  faith  that  Enoch 
was  taken  to  heaven,  so  that  he  never  died  (Tie  was  not 
overtaken  by  death,  for  God  had  taken  him  aivay).  For 
before  he  was  taken   to   heaven,   his   record   was  that   he 

6  had  satisfied  *  God;  and  apart  from  faith  it  is  impossible 
to  satisfy  him,  for  the  man  who  draws  near  to  God  must 
believe  that  he  exists  and  that  he  does  reward  those  who 

7  seek  him.  It  was  by  faith  that  Noah,  after  being  told  by 
God  what  was  still  unseen,  reverently  constructed  an  ark 
to  save  his  household;   thus  he  condemned  the  world  and 

8  became  heir  of  the  righteousness  that  follows  faith.  It  was 
by  faith  that  Abraham  obeyed  his  call  to  go  forth  to  a 
place  which  he  would  receive  as  an  inheritance;  he  went 
forth,    although   he   did    not   know   where   he    was    to   go. 

9  It  was  by  faith  that  he  sojourned  in  the  promised  land, 
as  in  a  foreign  country,  residing  in  tents,  as  did  Isaac  and 
Jacob  who  were  co-heirs  with  him  of  the  same  promise; 

10  he  was   waiting  for  the   City  with   its   fixed  foundations, 

11  whose  builder  and  maker  is  God.  It  was  by  faith  that  even 
Sara  got  strength  to  conceive,  bearing  a  son  when  she  was 
past  the  age  for  it — because  she  considered  she  could  rely 

12  on  Him  who  gave  the  promise.  Thus  a  single  man,  though 
he  was  physically  impotent,  had  issue  in  number  like  the 
stars   in   heaven,   countless   as   the   sand   on    the  seashore. 

13  (These  all  died  in  faith  without  obtaining  the  promises; 
they  only   saw  them   far  away  and   hailed   them,   owning 

14  they  were  'strangers  and  exiles  upon  earth.'  Now  people 
who  speak  in  this  way  plainly  show  they  are  in  search  of 

15  a  fatherland.     If  they  thought  of  the  land  they  have  left 

16  behind,  they  would  have  time  to  go  back,  but  they  really 
aspire  to  the  better  land  in  heaven.  That  is  why  God  is 
not  ashamed  to  be  called  their  God;    he  has  prepared   a 

17  City  for  them.)  It  was  by  faith,  when  Abraham  was  put 
to  the  test,  that  he  sacrificed  Isaac:  he  was  ready  to 
sacrifice  his  only  son,  although  he  had  received  the  prom- 

*  Here,  as  elsewhere,  "  satisfy  "  is  used  in  the  sense  of  a  servant  giving 
satisfaction  to  his  master. 


HEBREWS  XI  341 

18  ises  and  had  been  told  that  it  is  through  Isaac  thai  your 

19  offspring  shall  he  reckoned — for  he  considered  God  was 
able  even  to  raise  men  from  the  dead.  Hence  he  did  get 
him   back,   by    what    was    a    parable    of    the    resurrection. 

20  It  was  by  faith  that  Isaac  blessed  Jacob  and  Esau  in  con- 

21  nection  with  the  future.  It  was  by  faith  that,  when  Jacob 
was  dying,  he  blessed  each  of  the  sons  of  Joseph,  bending 

22  in  prayer  over  the  head  of  his  staff.  It  was  by  faith  that 
Joseph  at  his  end  thought  about  the  exodus  of  the  sons  of 

23  Israel,  and  gave  orders  about  his  own  bones.  It  was  by 
faith  that  Moses  was  hidden  for  three  months  after  birth 
by  his  parents,  because  they  saw  the  child  was  beautiful, 

24  and  had  no  fear  of  the  royal  decree.  It  was  by  faith  that 
Moses  refused,  when  he  had  grown  up,  to  be  called  the  son 

25  of  Pharaoh's  daughter;   ill-treatment  with  God's  people  he 

26  preferred  to  the  passing  pleasures  of  sin,  considering 
obloquy  with   the   messiah   to   be   richer   wealth   than   all 

27  Egypt's  treasures — for  he  had  an  eye  to  the  Reward.  It 
was  by  faith  that  he  left  Egypt,  not  from  any  fear  of  the 
king's   wrath;    like   one  who   saw   the   King   Invisible,   he 

28  never  flinched.  It  was  by  faith  that  he  celebrated  the 
passover  and  performed  the  sprinkling  by  blood,  so  that 

29  the  destroying  angel  might  not  touch  Israel's  first-born.  It 
was  by  faith  that  they  crossed  the  Red  Sea  like  dry  land 
— and  when  the  Egyptians  attempted  it  they  were  drowned. 

30  It  was  by  faith  that  the  walls  of  Jericho  collapsed,  after 

31  being  surrounded  for  only  seven  days.  It  was  by  faith 
that  Rahab  the  harlot  did  not  perish  along  with  those  who 
were  disobedient,  as  she  had  welcomed  the  scouts  peace- 
ably. 

32  And  what  more  shall  I  say?  Time  would  fail  me  to  tell 
of  Gideon,  of  Barak,  and  Samson  and  Jephthah,  of  David 

33  and  Samuel  and  the  prophets — men  who  by  faith  con- 
quered kingdoms,  administered  justice,  obtained  promises, 

34  shut  the  mouth  of  lions,  quenched  the  power  of  fire, 
escaped  the  edge  of  the  sword,  from  weakness  won  to 
strength,  proved  valiant  in  warfare,  and  routed  hosts  of 

35  foreigners.  Some  were  given  back  to  their  womankind, 
raised  from  the  very  dead;  others  were  broken  on  the 
wheel,  refusing  to  accept  release,  that  they  might  obtain 

36  a    better    resurrection;    others,    again,    had    to    experience 

37  scoffs  and  scourging,  aye  chains  and  imprisonment — they 
were  stoned,*  sawn  in  two,  and  cut  to  pieces;  they  had  to 
roam  about  in  sheepskins  and  goatskins,  forlorn,  oppressed, 

*  The  next  word,  iTreLpda-Brjaav,  is  either  due  to  dittography  (with  the 
following  iirpiad-qaav)  or  a  corruption  of  some  word  like  iirvpdadT](Tap  or 
^Treipdid-qa-av.     I  have  left  it  untranslated. 


342  HEBREWS  XII 

38  ill-treated  (men  of  whom  the  world  was  not  worthy), 
wanderers  in  the  desert  and  among  the  hills,  in  caves  and 

39  gullies.      They    all    won    their    record    for    faith,    but    the 

40  Promise  they  did  not  obtain.  God  had  something  better  in 
store  for  us;  he  would  not  have  them  perfected  apart  from 
us. 

■j  o  Therefore,  with  all  this  host  of  witnesses  *  encir- 
<i  ^  cling  us,  we  must  strip  off  every  handicap,  strip  off  sin 
with  its  clinging  folds,  to  run  our  appointed  course  steadily, 

2  our  eyes  fixed  upon  Jesus  as  the  pioneer  and  the  perfection 
of  faith — upon  Jesus  who,  in  order  to  reach  his  own  ap- 
pointed joy,  steadily  endured  the  cross,  thinking  nothing 
of  its  shame,  and  is  now  seated  at  the  right  hand  of  the 

3  throne  of  God.  Compare  him  who  steadily  endured  all  that 
hostility  from  sinful  men,  so  as  to  keep  your  own  hearts 

4  from  fainting  and  failing.    You  have  not  had  to  shed  blood 

5  yet  in  the  struggle  against  sin.  And  have  you  forgotten  the 
word  of  appeal  that  reasons  with  you  as  sons? — 

My  son,  never  make  light  of  the  Lord's  discipline, 
never  faint  under  Ms  rejnoofs; 

6  for  the  Lord  disciplines  the  man  he  loves, 
and  scourges  every  son  he  receives. 

7  It  is  for  discipline  that  you  have  to  endure.  God  is  treat- 
ing you  as  sons;  for  where  is  the  son  who  is  not  disciplined 

8  by  his  father?     Discipline  is  the  portion  of  all;   if  you  get 

9  no  discipline,  then  you  are  not  sons  but  bastards.  Why, 
we  had  fathers  of  our  flesh  to  discipline  us,  and  we  yielded 
to  them!     Shall  we  not  far  more  submit  to  the  Father  of 

10  our  spirits,  and  so  live?  For  while  their  discipline  was 
only  for  a  time,  and  inflicted  at  their  pleasure,  he  disci- 
plines  us  for   our  good,   that  we  may  share   in   his   own 

11  holiness.  Discipline  always  seems  for  the  time  to  be  a 
thing  of  pain,  not  of  joy;  but  those  who  are  trained  by 
it  reap  the  fruit  of  it  afterwards  in  the  peace  of  an  upright 

12  life.     So  up   with   your   listless   hands!     Strengthen  yoiir 

13  weak  knees!  And  make  straight  paths  for  your  feet  to 
walk  in.     You  must  not  let  the  lame  get  dislocated,  but 

14  rather  make  them  whole.  Aim  at  peace  with  all — and 
at  that  consecration  without  which  no  one  will  ever  see  the 

15  Lord;  see  to  it  that  no  one  misses  the  grace  of  God,  that 
no  root  of  bitterness  groivs  tip  to  be  a  trouble  by  contami- 

16  nating  all  the  rest  of  you;  that  no  one  turns  to  sexual  vice 
or  to  a  profane  life  as  Esau  did — Esau,  who  for  a  single 

17  meal  parted  with  his  birthright.  You  know  how  later 
on,  when  he  wanted  to  obtain  his  inheritance  of  blessing, 

*  The  Greek  word  is  beginning  already  to  hover  round  the  special 
sense  of  "  martyrs  ";  but  the  broader  sense  is  obviously  required  here. 


HEBREWS  XIII  343 

lie  was  set  aside;   he  got  no  chance  to  repent,  though  he 
tried  for  it  with  tears. 

18  You  have  not  come  to  what  you  can  touch,  to  flames 

19  of  fire,  to  mist  and  gloom  and  stormy  blasts,  to  the  blare 
of  a  trumpet  and  to  a  Voice  whose  words  made  those  who 

20  heard  it  refuse  to  hear  anoftier  syllable  (for  they  could  not 
bear  the  command,  If  even  a  beast  touches  the  mountain, 

21  it  must  be  stoned) — indeed,  so  awful  was  the  sight  that 

22  Moses  said,  /  am  terrified  and  aghast.  You  have  come  to 
mount  Sion,  the  city  of  the  living  God,  the  heavenly  Jeru- 

23  salem,  to  myriads  of  angels  in  festal  gathering,  to  the 
assembly  of  the  first-born  registered  in  heaven,  to  the  God 
of  all  as  judge,  to  the  spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect, 

24  to    Jesus    who    mediates    the    new    covenant,    and    to    the 

25  sprinkled  blood  whose  message  is  nobler  than  Abel's.  See 
that  you  do  not  refuse  to  listen  to  His  voice.  For  if  they 
failed  to  escape,  who  refused  to  listen  to  their  instructor 
upon  earth,  much  less  shall  we,  if  we  discard  Him  who 

26  speaks  from  heaven.  Then  his  voice  shook  the  earth,  but 
now  the  assurance  is,  once  again  I  tvill  make  heaven  as  ivell 

27  as  earth  to  quake.  That  phrase,  once  agaiii,  denotes  the 
removal  of  what  is  shaken  (as  no  more  than  created),  to 

28  leave  only  what  stands  unshaken.  Therefore  let  us  render 
thanks  *  that  we  get  an  unshaken  realm ;  and  in  this  way 

29  let  us  worship  God  acceptably — but  with  godly  fear  t  and 
awe,  for  our  God  is  indeed  a  consuming  fire. 

2  1  O  Let  your  brotherly  love  continue.  Never  forget  to  oe 
1 0  hospitable,  for  by  hospitality  some  have  entertained 

3  angels  unawares.  Remember  prisoners  as  if  you  were  in 
prison  yourselves;  remember  those  who  are  being  ill- 
treated,  since  you  too  are  in  the  body. 

4  Let  marriage  be  held  in  honour  by  all,  and  keep  the  mar- 
riage-bed unstained.  God  will  punish  the  vicious  and 
adulterous. 

5  Keep  your  life  free  from  the  love  of  money;  be  content 
with  what  you  have,  for  He  has  said, 

Never  will  I  fail  you,  never  will  I  forsake  you. 

6  So  that  we  can  say  confidently. 

The  Lord  is  my  helper,  I  will  not  be  afraid. 
What  can  men  do  to  me? 

7  Remember  your  leaders,  the  men  who  spoke  the  word  of 
God  to  you;  look  back  upon  the  close  of  their  career,  and 
copy  their  faith. 

8  Jesus  Christ  is  always  the  same,  yesterday,  to-day,  and 

*  Reading  exw/i€»'. 

t  Like  Jesus  himself  (v.  7). 


344  HEBREWS  XIII 

9  for  ever.  Never  let  yourselves  be  carried  away  with  a 
variety  of  novel  doctrines;  for  the  right  thing  is  to  have 
one's  heart  strengthened  by  grace,  not  by  the  eating  of 
food — that  has  never  been  any  use  to  those  who  have  had 

10  recourse  to  it.     Our  altar  is  one  of  which  the  worshippers 

11  have  no  right  to  eat.  For  the  bodies  of  the  animals  whose 
Mood  is  taken  into  the  holy  Place  by  the  high  priest  as  a 

12  sin-offering,  are  burned  outside  the  camp;  and  so  Jesus 
also   suffered    outside   the   gate,    in   order   to   sanctify   the 

13  people  by  his  own  blood.     Let  us  go  to  him  outside  the 

14  camp,  then,  bearing  his  obloquy   (for  we  have  no  lasting 

15  city  here  below,  we  seek  the  City  to  come).  And  by  him 
let  us  constantly  offer  praise  to  God  as  our  sacrifice,  that  is, 

16  the  fruit  of  lips  that  celebrate  his  Name.  Do  not  forget 
beneficence  and  charity,  either;  these  are  the  kind  of 
sacrifices  that  are  acceptable  to  God. 

17  Obey  your  leaders,  submit  to  them;  for  they  are  alive  to 
the  interests  of  your  souls,  as  men  who  will  have  to  account 
for  their  trust.  Let  their  work  be  a  joy  to  them  and  not  a 
grief — which  would  be  a  loss  to  yourselves. 

18  Pray  for  me,  for  I  am  sure  I  have  a  clean  conscience; 

19  my  desire  is  in  every  way  to  lead  an  honest  life.  I  urge 
you  to  this  all  the  more,  that  I  may  get  back  to  you  the 
sooner. 

20  May  the  God  of  peace  who  brought  up  from  the  dead  our 
Lord  Jesus,  the  great  Shepherd  of  the  sheep,  with  the  blood 

21  of  the  eternal  covenant,  furnish  you  with  everything  *  for 
the  doing  of  his  will,  creating  in  your  lives  by  Jesus  Christ 
what  is  acceptable  in  his  own  sight!  To  him  be  glory  for 
ever  and  ever:   Amen. 

22  I  appeal  to  you,  brothers,  to  bear  with  this  appeal  of 
mine.     It  is  but  a  short  letter. 

23  You  must  understand  that  [our]  brother  Timotheus  is 
now  free.    If  he  comes  soon,  he  and  I  will  see  you  together. 

24  Salute  all  your  leaders  and  all  the  saints.  The  Italians 
-salute  you. 

Grace  be  with  you  all.  Amen. 

*  Omitting,  with  {<,  D*,^  the  Latin  and  Bohairic  versions,  etc.,  the 
homiletic  addition  of  d7a^y. 


THE  EPISTLE  OF 

JAMES 

1    James,  a  servant  of  God  and  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  to 
the  twelve  tribes  in  the  Dispersion:   greeting. 

2  Greet  it  as  pure  joy,  my  brothers,  when  you  come  across 

3  any  sort  of  trial,   sure  that  the   sterling  temper  of  your 

4  faith  produces  endurance;    only,  let  your  endurance  be  a 
finished  product,  so  that  you  may  be  finished  and  complete, 

5  with  never  a  defect.     Whoever  of  you  is  defective  in  wis- 
dom, let  him  ask  God  who  gives  to  all  men  without  ques- 

6  tion  or  reproach,  and  the  gift  will  be  his.    Only,  let  him  ask 
in  faith,  with  never  a  doubt;  for  the  doubtful  man  is  like 

7  surge  of  the  sea  whirled  and  swayed  by  the  wind;    that 
mxan   need    not   imagine   he    will    get   anything   from   God, 

8  double-minded  creature  that  he  is,  wavering  at  every  turn. 

9  Let  a  brother  of  low  position  exult  when  he   is  raised; 

10  but  let  one  who  is  rich  exult  in  being  lowered;  for  the  rich 

11  will  pass  away  like  the  floiver  of  the  grass — up  comes  the 
sun  with  the  scorching  wind  and  ivithers  the  grass,  its 
floiver  drops  off,  and  the  splendour  of  it  is  ruined:  so  shall 

12  the  rich  fade  away  amid  their  pursuits.  Blessed  is  he  who 
endures  under  trial;  for  when  he  has  stood  the  test,  he  will 
gain  the  crown  of  life  which  is  promised  to  all  who  love 

13  Him.  Let  no  one  who  is  tried  by  temptation  say,  'My 
temptation   comes  from   God';    God  is   incapable  of  being 

14  tempted  by  evil  and  he  tempts  no  one.    Everyone  is  tempted 

15  as  he  is  beguiled  and  allured  by  his  own  desire;  then 
Desire  conceives  and  breeds   Sin,  while   Sin  matures  and 

16  gives   birth   to   Death.     Make   no   mistake   about   this,   my 

17  beloved  brothers:  all  we  are  given  is  good,  and  all  our 
endowments  are  faultless,  descending  from  above,  from  the 
Father  of  the  heavenly  liglits,   who  knows  no   change   of 

18  rising  and  setting,  who  casts  no  shadow  on  the  earth.  It 
was  his  own  will  that  we  should  be  born  by  the  Word  of 
the  truth,  to    be  a  kind  of  firstfruits  among  his  creatures. 

19  Be  sute  of  that,  my  beloved  brothers. 

Let  everyone  be  quick  to  listen,  slow  to  talk,  slow  to  be 

20  angry — for  human  anger  does  not  promote  divine  righteous- 

21  ness;  so  clear  away  all  the  foul  rank  growth  of  malice,  and 
make  a  soil  of  modesty  for  the  Word  which  roots  itself 

345 


346  JAMES  II 

22  inwardly  with  power  to  save  your  souls.  Act  on  the  Word, 
instead  of  merely  listening  to  it  and  deluding  yourselves. 

23  For  whoever  listens  and  does  nothing,  is  like  a  man  who 

24  glances  at  his  natural  face  in  a  mirror;  he  glances  at  him- 

25  self,  goes  off,  and  at  once  forgets  what  he  was  like.  Where- 
as he  who  gazes  into  the  faultless  law  of  freedom  and 
remains  in  that  position,  proving  himself  to  be  no  forgetful 
listener  but   an   active   agent,   he   will  be   blessed   in   his 

26  a-ctivity.  Whoever  considers  he  is  religious,  and  does  not 
bridle  his  tongue,  but  deceives  his  own  heart,  his  religion  is 

27  futile.  Pure,  unsoiled  religion  in  the  judgment  of  God  the 
Father  means  this:  to  care  for*  orphans  and  widows  in 
their  trouble,  and  to  keep  oneself  from  the  stain  of  the 
world. 

cy  My  brothers,  as  you  believe  in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
^  who    is   the    Glory,   pay   no   servile   regard   to   people. 

2  Suppose  there  comes  into  your  meeting  a  man  who  wears 
gold  rings  and  handsome  clothes,  and  also  a  poor  man  in 

3  dirty  clothes;  if  you  attend  to  the  wearer  of  the  handsome 
clothes  and  say  to  him,  "Sit  here,  this  is  a  good  place," 
and  tell  the  poor  man,  "You  can  stand,"  or  "Sit  there  f  at 

4  my  feet,"  are  you  not  drawing  distinctions  in  your  own 
minds  and  proving  that  you  judge  people  with  partiality? 

5  Listen,  my  beloved  brothers;  has  not  God  chosen  the  poor 
of  this  world  to  be  rich  in  faith  and  to  inherit  the  realm 

6  which  he  has  promised  to  those  who  love  him?  Now  you 
insult  the  poor.    Is  it  not  the  rich  who  lord  it  over  you  and 

7  drag  you  to  court?     Is  it  not  they  who  scoff  at  the  noble 

8  Name  you  bear?  If  you  really  fulfil  the  royal  law  laid  down 
by  scripture,  You  must  love  your  neighbour  as  yourself, 

9  well  and  good;  but  if  you  pay  servile  regard  to  people,  you 
commit  a  sin,  and  the  Law  convicts  you  of  transgression. 

10  For  whoever  obeys  the  whole  of  the  Law  and  only  makes 

11  a  single  slip,  is  guilty  of  everything.  He  who  said.  Do  not 
commit  adultery,  also  said,  Do  not  kill.  Now  if  you  do  not 
commit  adultery  but  if  you  kill,  you  have  transgressed  the 

12  Law.     Speak,  act,  as  those  who  are  to  be  judged  by  the 

13  law  of  freedom;  for  the  judgment  will  be  merciless  to  the 
man  who  has  shown  no  mercy — whereas  the  merciful  life 

11  will  triumph  in  the  face  of  judgment.  t  Do  not  defame 
one  another,  brothers;  he  who  defames  or  judges  his  brother 
defames  and  judges  the  Law;   and  if  you  judge  the  Law, 

12  you  pass  sentence  on  it  instead  of  obeying  it.  One  alone 
is  the  legislator,  who  passes  sentence;  it  is  He  who  is  able 

*  As  in  Matthew  xxv.  36,  the  word  implies  personal  service  and  help, 
t  Reading  ^  Kadov  iKei  with  B  and  some  evidence  from  the  Latin 
version. 

X  Restoring  4"-^2  to  what  seems  to  have  been  its  original  place. 


JAMES  III  347 

to    save    and    to    destroy;    who    are   you,    to   judge   your 
neighbour? 

14  My  brothers,  what  is  the  use  of  anyone  declaring  he  has 
faith,  if  he  has  no  deeds  to  show?    Can  his  faith  save  him? 

15  Suppose  some  brother  or  sister  is  ill-clad  and  short  of  daily 

16  food;  if  any  of  you  says  to  them,  "Depart  in  peace!  Get 
warm,  get  food,"  without  supplying  their  bodily  needs,  what 

17  use  is  that?    So  faith,  unless  it  has  deeds,  is  dead  in  itself. 

18  Someone  will  object,  'And  you  claim  to  have  faith!'  Yes, 
and  I  claim  to  have  deeds  as  well;  you  show  me  your 
faith  without  any  deeds,  and  I  will  show  you  by  my  deeds 

19  what  faith  is!     You  believe  in  one  God?     Well  and  good. 

20  So  do  the  devils,  and  they  shudder.  But  will  you  under- 
stand,  you   senseless  fellow,   that  faith   without   deeds   is 

21  dead?     When  our  father  Abraham  offered  his  son  Isaac 

22  on  the  altar,  was  he  not  justified  by  what  he  did?  In  his 
case,  you  see,  faith  co-operated  with  deeds,  faith  was  com- 

23  pleted  by  deeds,  and  the  scripture  was  fulfilled:  Abraham 
believed  Ood,  and  this  was  counted  to  him  as  righteousness 

24  — he  was  called  God's  friend.  You  observe  it  is  by  what  he 
does  that  a  man  is  justified,  not  simply  by  what  he  believes, 

25  So  too  with  Rahab  the  harlot.  Was  she  not  justified  by  what 
she  did,  when  she  entertained  the  scouts  and  got  them  away 
by  a  different  road? 

26  For  as  the  body  without  the  breath  of  life  is  dead, 
so  faith  is  dead  without  deeds. 

17  Whoever,  then,  knows  what  is  right  to  do  and  does  not  do 
it,  that  is  a  sin  for  him.* 

3  My  brothers,  do  not  swell  the  ranks  of  the  teachers; 
remember,  we  teachers  will  be  judged  with  special  strict- 

2  ness.  We  all  make  many  a  slip,  but  whoever  avoids  slips 
of  speech  is  a  perfect  man;  he  can  bridle  the  whole  of  the 

3  body  as  well  as  the  tongue.  We  put  bridles  into  the  mouths 
of  horses  to  make  them  obey  us,  and  so,  you  see,  t  we  can 

4  move  the  whole  of  their  bodies.  Look  at  ships  too;  for  all 
their  size  and  speed  under  stiff  winds,  they  are  turned  by 
a  tiny  rudder  wherever  the  mind  of  the  steersman  chooses. 

5  So  the  tongue  is  a  small  member  of  the  body,  but  it  can 
boast  of  great  exploits.     What  a  forest  is  set  ablaze  by  a 

6  little  spark  of  fire!  And  the  tongue  is  a  fire,  the  tongue 
proves  a  very  world  of  mischief  among  our  members,  stain- 
ing the  whole  of  the  body  and  setting  fire  to  the  round  circle 

7  of  existence  with  a  flame  fed  by  hell.     For  while  every 

*  This  seems  likely  to  have  been  the  original  position  of  4^7. 
t  Reading  with  C  P,  the  Syriac  and  Armenian  versions,   (Se   (ISoi/)^ 
instead  of  €*'  5^. 


348  JAMES  IV 

kind  of  beast  and  bird,  of  creeping  animals  and  creatures 

8  marine,  is  tameable  and  has  been  tamed  by  mankind,  no 
man  can  tame  the  tongue — plague  of  disorder  that  it  is, 

9  full  of  deadly  venom!  With  the  tongue  we  bless  the  Lord 
and  Father,  and  with  the  tongue  we  curse  men  made  in 

10  God's  likeness;  blessing  and  cursing  stream  from  the  same 

11  lips!  My  brothers,  this  ought  not  to  be.  Does  a  fountain 
pour  out  fresh  water  and  brackish  from  the  same  hole? 

12  Can  a  fig  tree,  my  brothers,  bear  olives?  Or  a  vine,  figs? 
No  more  can  salt  water  yield  fresh. 

13  Who  among  you  is  wise  and  learned?  Let  him  show  by 
his  good  conduct,  with  the  modesty  of  wisdom,  what  his 

14  deeds  are.  But  if  you  are  cherishing  bitter  jealousy  and 
rivalry  in  your  hearts,  do  not  pride  yourselves  on  that — 

15  and  be  false  to  the  truth.  That  is  not  the  wisdom  which 
comes  down  from  above,  it  is  an  earthly  wisdom,  sensuous, 

16  devilish;  for  wherever  jealousy  and  rivalry  exist,  there  dis- 

17  order  reigns  and  every  evil.  The  wisdom  from  above  is 
first  of  all  pure,  then  peaceable,  forbearing,  conciliatory, 
full  of  mercy  and  wholesome  fruit,  unambiguous,  straight- 

18  forward;    and    the   peacemakers    who    sow    in   peace   reap 

4  righteousness.  Where     do     conflicts,     where     do 

wrangles  come  from,  in  your  midst?    Is  it  not  from  these 

2  passions  of  yours  that  war  among  your  members?  You 
crave,  and  miss  what  you  want:  you  envy*  and  covet,  but 
you  cannot  acquire:  you  wrangle  and  fight — you  miss  what 

3  you  want  because  you  do  not  ask  God  for  it;  you  do  ask  and 
you  do  not  get  it,  because  you  ask  with  the  wicked  intention 

4  of  spending  it  on  your  pleasures.  (Wanton  creatures!  do 
you  not  know  that  the  world's  friendship  means  enmity  to 
God?     Whoever,   then,   chooses   to   be   the   world's  friend, 

5  turns  enemy  to  God.  What,  do  you  consider  this  is  an  idle 
word  of  scripture? — 'He  yearns  jealously  for  the  spirit  he 

6  set  within  us.')  Yet  he  gives  grace  more  and  more:  thus  it 
is  said, 

The  haughty  God  opposes, 

'but  to  the  hu7nble  he  gives  grace. 

7  Well  then,  submit  yourselves  to  God; 

resist  the  devil, 

and  he  will  fly  from  you: 

8  draw  near  to  God, 

and  he  will  draw  near  to  you. 
Cleanse  your  hands,  you  sinners, 
and  purify  your  hearts,  you  double-minded. 

9  Lament  and  mourn  and  weep, 

*  Accepting  <f>dovetTe,  the  conjecture  of  Erasmus,  for  the  <pov€ver€  of 

the  MSS. 


JAMES  V  349 

let  your  laughter  be  turned  to  mourning, 
and  your  joy  to  depression; 
10      humble  yourselves  before  the  Lord, 
and  then  he  will  raise  you  up, 

13  Come  now,  you  who  say,  "To-day  or  to-morrow  we  are 
going  to  such  and  such  a  city;  we  shall  spend  a  year  there 

14  trading  and  making  money" — you  who  know  nothing  about 
to-morrow!     For  what  is  your  life?     You  are  but  a  mist, 

15  which  appears  for  a  little  and  then  vanishes.  You  ought 
rather  to  say,  "If  the  Lord  will,  we  shall  live  to  do  this  or 

16  that."  But  here  you  are,  boasting  in  your  proud  preten- 
sions!    All  such  boasting  is  wicked. 

5  Come  now,  you  rich  men,  weep  and  shriek  over  your  im- 
pending miseries! 
You  have  been  storing  up  treasure  in  the  very  last  days;  * 

2  your  wealth  lies  rotting, 

and  your  clothes  are  moth-eaten; 

3  your  gold  and  silver  lie  rusted  over, 

and  their  rust  will  be  evidence  against  you, 
it  will  devour  your  flesh  like  fire. 

4  See,  the  wages  of  which  you  have  defrauded  the  work- 

men who  mowed  your  fields  call  out, 
and  the  cries  of  the  harvesters  have  reached  the  ears  of 
the  Lord  of  Hosts. 

5  You  have  revelled  on  earth  and  plunged  into  dissipation; 
you  have  fattened  yourselves  as  for  the  Day  of  slaughter; 

6  you  have  condemned,  you  have  murdered  the  righteous — 

unresisting. 

7  Be  patient,  then,  brothers,  till  the  arrival  of  the  Lord. 
See  how  the  farmer  waits  for  the  precious  crop  of  the  land, 
biding  his  time  patiently  till  he  gets  the  autumn  and  the 

8  spring  rains;   have   patience   yourselves,    strengthen  your 

9  hearts,  for  the  arrival  of  the  Lord  is  at  hand.  Do  not  mur- 
mur against  one  another,  brothers,  lest  you  are  judged; 

10  look,  the  Judge  is  standing  at  the  very  door!  As  an  ex- 
ample of  fortitude  and  endurance,  brothers,  take  the  proph- 

11  ets  who  have  spoken  in  the  name  of  the  Lord.  See,  loe  call 
the  stedfast  happy ;  you  have  heard  of  the  stedfastness  of 
Job,  and  you  have  seen  the  end  of  the  Lord  with  him,  seen 

12  that  the  Lord  is  very  compassionate  and  pitiful.  Above  all, 
my  brothers,  never  swear  an  oath,  either  by  heaven  or  by 
earth  or  by  anything  else;  let  your  "yes"  be  a  plain  "yes," 
your  "no"  a  plain  "no,"  lest  you  incur  judgment. 

*  Transferring  the  last  clause  of  ver.  3  to  what  appears  to  have  been 
its  original  position. 


350  JAMES  V 

13  Is  anyone  of  you  in  trouble?  let  him  pray.     Is  anyone 

14  thriving?  let  him  sing  praise.  Is  anyone  ill?  let  him 
summon  the  presbyters  of  the  church,  and  let  them  pray 
over  him,  anointing  him  with  oil  in  the  name  of  the  Lord; 

15  the  prayer  of  faith  will  restore  the  sick  man,  and  the  Lord 
will  raise  him  up;  even  the  sins  he  has  committed  will  be 

16  forgiven  him.  So  confess  your  sins  to  one  another  and 
pray  for  one  another,  that  you  may  be  healed;  the  prayers 

17  of  the  righteous  have  a  powerful  effect.  Elijah  was  a  man 
with  a  nature  just  like  our  own;  but  he  offered  prayer  that 
it  might  not  rain,  and  for  three  years  and  six  months  it  did 

18  not  rain;  then  he  prayed  again,  and  the  sky  yielded  rain, 
the  earth  brought  forth  its  fruit. 

19  My  brothers,  if  anyone  of  you  goes  astray  from  the  truth 

20  and  some  one  brings  him  back,  understand  that  he  who 
brings  a  sinner  back  from  the  error  of  his  way  saves  his 
soul  from  death  and  hides  a  host  of  sins. 


THE  FIRST  EPISTLE  OF  ' 

PETER 

1    Peter  an  apostle  of  Jesus  Christ,  to  the  exiles  of  the 
Dispersion   in   Pontus,   Galatia,   Cappadocia,   Asia,   and 

2  Bithynia,  whom  God  the  Father  has  predestined  and  chosen, 
by  the  consecration  of  the  Spirit,  to  obey  Jesus  Christ  and 
be  sprinkled  with  his  blood:  may  grace  and  peace  be  mul- 
tiplied to  you. 

3  Blessed  be  the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ! 
By  his  great  mercy  we  have  been  born  anew  to  a  life  of 
hope  through  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ  from  the 

4  dead,  born  to  an  unscathed,  inviolate,  unfading  inheritance; 

5  it  is  kept  in  heaven  for  you,  and  the  power  of  God  protects 
you  by  faith  till  you  do  inherit  the  salvation  which  is  all 

6  ready  to  be  revealed  at  the  last  hour.  You  will  rejoice  then, 
though  for  the  passing  moment  you  may  need  to  suffer 

7  various  trials;  that  is  only  to  prove  your  faith  is  sterling 
(far  more  precious  than  gold  which  is  perishable  and  yet 
is  tested  by  fire),  and  it  redounds  to  your  praise  and  glory 

8  and  honour  at  the  revelation  of  Jesus  Christ.  You  never 
knew  him,  but  you  love  him;  for  the  moment  you  do  not 
see  him,  but  you  believe  in  him,  and  you  will  thrill  with  an 

9  unspeakable  and  glorious  joy  to  obtain  the  outcome  of  your 

10  faith  in  the  salvation  of  your  souls.  Even  prophets  have 
searched  and  inquired  about  that  salvation,  the  prophets 

11  who  prophesied  of  the  grace  that  was  meant  for  you;  the 
Spirit  of  messiah  within  them  foretold  all  the  suffering  of 
messiah  and  his  after-glory,  and  they  pondered  when  or 

12  how  this  was  to  come;  to  them  it  was  revealed  that  they 
got  this  intelligence  *  not  for  themselves  but  for  you, 
regarding  all  that  has  now  been  disclosed  to  you  by  those 
who  preached  the  gospel  to  you  through  the  holy  Spirit 
sent  from  heaven.  The  very  angels  long  to  get  a  glimpse 
of  this! 

13  Brace  up  your  minds,  then,  keep  cool,  and  put  your  hope 
for  good  and  all  in  the  grace  that  is  coming  to  you  at  the 

'  *0n  the  basis  of  Enoch  i.  2  {o{>k  els  ttjv  vvv  yev^au  dtefooi/x-nv  dXX'  ^Tri 
irbppw  odaav  iyd  XaXw)  Dr.  Rendel  Harris  plausibly  reads  dtepoovPTo, 
as  above,  for  the  SnjKdvovv  of  the  ordinary  text. 

351 


352  I.  PETER  II 

14  revelation  of  Jesus  Christ.  Be  obedient  children,  instead 
of  moulding  yourselves  to  the  passions  that  once  ruled  the 

15  days  of  your  ignorance;  as  He  who  called  you  is  holy,  so 
you  must  be  holy  too  in  all  your  conduct — for  it  is  written, 

}l^  You  shall  be  lioly  because  I  am  lioly.  And  as  you  call  upon 
a  Father  who  judges  everyone  impartially  by  what  he  has 
done,  be  reverent  in  your  conduct  while  you  sojourn  here 

18  below;  you  know  it  was  not  by  perishable  silver  or  gold 
that  you  were  ransomed  from  the  futile  traditions  of  your 

19  past,  but  by  the  precious  blood  of  Christ,  a  lamb  unblem- 

20  ished  and  unstained.  He  was  predestined  before  the  foun- 
dation of  the  world  and  has  appeared  at  the  end  of  the  ages 

21  for  your  sake;  it  is  by  him  that  you  believe  in  God  who 
raised  him  from  the  dead  and  gave  him  glory;  and  thus 
your  faith  means  hope  in  God. 

22  Now  that  your  obedience  to  the  Truth  has  purified  your 
souls  for  a  brotherly  love  that  is  sincere,  love  one  another 

23  heartily  and  steadily.    You  are  born  anew  of  immortal,  not 

24  of  mortal  seed,  by  the  living,  lasting  word  of  God;  for 

All  flesh  is  like  the  grass, 

and  all  its  glory  like  the  flower  of  grass: 
the  grass  loithers 

and  the  flower  fades, 

25  but  the  icord  of  the  Lord  lasts  for  ever — 

2  and  that  is  the  word  of  the  gospel  for  you.  So  off 

with  all  malice,  all  guile  and  insincerity  and  envy  and 

2  slander  of  every  kind!  Like  newly-born  children,  thirst 
for  the  pure,  spiritual  milk  to  make  you  grow^  up  to  salva- 

3  tion.     You  have  had  a  taste  of  the  kindness  of  the  Lord: 

4  come  to  him  then — come  to  that  living  Stone  which  men 

5  have  rejected  and  God  holds  choice  and  precious,  come  and, 
like  living  stones  yourselves,  be  built  into  a  spiritual  house, 
to  form  a  consecrated  priesthood  for  the  offering  of  those 
spiritual  sacrifices  that  are  acceptable  to  God  through  Jesus 

6  Christ.     For  thus  it  stands  in  the  scripture: 

Here  I  lay  a  Stone  in  Sion, 

a  choice,  a  precious  cornerstone: 
he  icho  believes  in  him  ivill  never  be  disappointed. 

7  Now  you  believe,  you  hold  him  'precious,'  but  as  for  the 
unbelieving — 

the  very  stone  the  builders  rejected 
is  now  the  cornerstone, 

8  a  stone  over  which  men  stumbfe  and  a  rock  of  offence; 
they  stumble  over  it  in  their  disobedience  to  God's  word. 

9  Such  is  their  appointed  doom.  But  you  are  the  elect  race, 
the  royal  priesthood,  the  consecrated  nation,  the  People 
who  belong  to  Him,  that  you  may  proclaim  the  wondrous 
deeds  of  Him  who  has  called  you  from  darkness  to  his 


I.  PETER  III  353 

10  wonderful  light — you  who  once  were  no  people  and  now 
are  Ood's  people,  you  who  once  we7'e  unpitied  and  now  are 
pitied. 

11  Beloved,  as  sojourners  and  exiles  I  appeal  to  you  to 
abstain  from  the  passions  of  the  flesh  that  wage  war  upon 

12  the  soul.  Conduct  yourselves  properly  before  pagans;  so 
that  for  all  their  slander  of  you  as  bad  characters,  they 
may  come  to  glorify  God  when  you  are  put  upon  your  trial, 
by  what  they  see  of  your  good  deeds. 

13  Submit  for  the   Lord's   sake   to   any  human  authority; 

14  submit  to  the  emperor  as  supreme,  and  to  governors  as 
deputed  by  him  for  the  punishment  of  wrongdoers  and  the 

15  encouragement  of  honest  people — for  it  is  the  will  of  God 
that  by  your  honest  lives  you  should  silence  the  ignorant 

16  charges  of  foolish  persons.  Live  like  free  men,  only  do  not 
make  your  freedom  a  pretext  for  misconduct;  live  like  serv- 

17  ants  of  God.  Do  honour  to  all,  love  the  brotherhood,  rever- 
ence God,  lionour  the  emperor. 

18  Servants,  be  submissive  to  your  masters  with  perfect 
respect,  not  simply  to  those  vT-ho  are  kind  and  reasonable 

19  but  to  the  surly  as  well — for  it  is  a  merit  when  from  a 

20  sense  of  God  one  bears  the  pain  of  unjust  suffering.  Where 
is  the  credit  in  standing  punishment  for  having  done 
wrong?    No,  if  you  stand  suffering  for  having  done  right, 

21  that  is  what  God  counts  a  merit.  It  is  your  vocation;  for 
when  Christ  suffered  for  you,  he  left  you  an  example,  and 
you  must  follow  his  footsteps. 

22  He  committed  no  sin, 

no  guile  was  ever  found  upon  his  lips; 

23  he  was  reviled  and  made  no  retort, 

he  suffered  and  never  threatened, 

24  but  left  everything  to  Him  who  judges  justly;  he  tore  our 
sins  in  his  own  body  on  the  gibbet,  that  we  might  break 
with  sin  and  live  for  righteousness;    and  ty  his  wounds 

25  you  have  teen  healed.  You  were  astray  like  sheep,  but  you 
have  come  back  now  to  the  Shepherd  and  Guardian  of  your 
souls. 

3  In  the  same  way,  you  wives  must  be  submissive  to  your 
husbands,  so  that  even  those  who  will  not  believe  the 
Word  may  be  won  over  without  a  word  by  the  behaviour 

2  of  their  wives,  when  they  see  how  chaste  and  reverent  you 

3  are.     You  are  not  to  adorn  yourselves  on  the  outside  with 
braids  of  hair   and  ornaments  of  gold  and  changes  of  dress, 

4  but  inside,  in  the  heart,  with  the  immortal  beauty  of  a 
gentle  and  modest  spirit,  which  in  the  sight  of  God  is  of 

5  rare  value.     It  was  in  this  way  long  ago  that  the  holy 
women  who  hoped  in  God  adorned  themselves.     They  were 

6  submissive  to  their  husbands.    Thus  Sara  obeyed  Abraham 


354  I.  PETER  III 

by  calling  Mm  'lord'.     And  you  are  daughters  of  Sara  if 

7  you  do  what  is  right  and  yield  to  no  panic*  In  the  same 
way  you  husbands  must  be  considerate  in  living  with  your 
wives,  since  they  are  the  weaker  sex;  you  must  honour 
them  as  heirs  equally  with  yourselves  of  the  grace  of  Life, 
so  that  your  prayers  may  not  be  hindered. 

8  Lastly,  you  must  all  be  united,  you  must  have  sympathy, 
brotherly   love,    compassion,   and   humility,   never   paying 

9  back  evil  for  evil,  never  reviling  when  you  are  reviled,  but 
on  the  contrary  blessing.  For  this  is  your  vocation,  to 
bless  and  to  inherit  blessing; 

10  he   icho  would   love  Life 

and  enjoy  good  days, 
let  Mm  keep  Ms  tongue  from  evil 
and  Ms  lips  from  speaking  guile: 

11  let  Mm  sliun  wrong  and  do  rigM, 

let  Mm  seek  peace  and  make  peace  Ms  aim. 

12  For  the  eyes  of  the  Lord  are  on  the  upright, 

and  Ms  ears  are  open  to  their  cry ; 
tut  the  face  of  the  Lord  is  set  against  wrongdoers. 

13  Yet  who  will  wrong  you  if  you  have  a  passion  for  good- 

14  ness?  Even  supposing  you  have  to  suffer  for  the  sake  of 
what  is  right,  still  you  are  blessed.    Have  no  fear  of  their 

15  threats,  do  not  let  that  trouble  yoti,  but  reverence  Christ 
as  Lord  in  your  own  hearts.  Always  be  ready  with  a  reply 
for  anyone  who  calls  you  to  account  for  the  hope  you 
cherish,  but  answer  gently  and  with  a  sense  of  reverence; 

16  see  that  you  have  a  clean  conscience,  so  that,  for  all  their 
slander  of  you,  these  libellers  of  your  good  Christian  be- 

17  haviour  may  be  ashamed.  For  it  is  better  to  suffer  for  doing 
right   (if  that  should  be  the  will  of  God)    than  for  doing 

18  wrong.  Christ  himself  died  for  sins,  once  for  all,  a  just  man 
for  unjust  men,  that  he  might  bring  us  near  to  God;  in  the 
flesh  he  was  put  to  death  but  he  came  to  life  in  the  Spirit. 

19  (It  was  in  the  Spirit  that  Enoch  f  also  went  and  preached 

20  to  the  imprisoned  spirits  who  had  disobeyed  at  the  time 
when  God's  patience  held  out  during  the  construction  of 
the  ark  in  the  days  of  Noah — the  ark  by  which  only  a  few 
souls,  eight  in  all,  were  brought  safely  through  the  water.) 

21  Baptism,  the  counterpart  of  that,  saves  you  to-day  (not  the 
mere  washing  of  dirt  from  the  flesh  but  the  prayer  for  a 

*  Apparently  an  allusion  to  the  fear  of  violence  at  the  hands  of  their 
("pagan?)  husbands.  The  language,  but  not  the  idea,  is  that  of  Proverbs 
iii.  25. 

t  Accepting  the  emendation  of  Dr.  Rendel  Harris  that  'Evtix  has  been 
omitted  after  iv  v  f^^  (ENfiKAI  [ENfiX]),  by  "  a  scribe's  blunder  in 
dropping  some  repeated  letters."  The  story  of  this  mission  is  told  in 
the  Book  of  Enoch  (see  above,  p.  351). 


I.  PETER  IV  355 

clean  conscience  before  God)  by  the  resurrection  of  Jesus 
22  Christ  who  is  at  God's  right  hand — for  he  went  to  heaven 
after  angels,   authorities,   and  powers  celestial   had  been 
made  subject  to  him.) 

4  Well,  as  Christ  has  suffered  for  us  in  the  flesh,  let  this 
very  conviction  that  he  who  has  suffered  in  the  flesh 

2  gets  quit  of  sin,  nerve  you  to  spend  the  rest  of  your  time  in 
the  flesh  for  the  will  of  God  and  no  longer  for  human 

3  passions.  It  is  quite  enough  to  have  done  as  pagans  choose 
to  do,  during  the  time  gone  by!  You  used  to  lead  lives  of 
sensuality,  lust,  carousing,  revelry,  dissipation  and  illicit 

4  idolatry,  and  it  astonishes  them  that  you  will  not  plunge 
with  them  still  into  the  same  flood  of  profligacy.     They 

5  abuse  you,  but  they  will  have  to  answer  for  that  to  Him 

6  who  is  prepared  to  judge  the  living  and  the  dead  (for  this 
was  why  the  gospel  was  preached  to  the  dead  as  well,  that 
while  they  are  judged  in  the  flesh  as  men,  they  may  live 
as  God  lives  in  the  spirit). 

7  Now  the  end  of  all  is  near.     Steady  then,  keep  cool  and 

8  pray!    Above  all,  be  keen  to  love  one  another,  for  love  hides 

9  a  host  of  sins.     Be  hospitable  to  each  other,  and  do  not 

10  grudge  it.  You  must  serve  one  another,  each  with  the 
talent  he  has  received,  as  efficient  stewards  of  God's  varied 

11  grace.  If  anyone  preaches,  he  must  preach  as  one  who 
utters  the  words  of  God;  if  anyone  renders  some  service, 
it  must  be  as  one  who  is  supplied  by  God  with  power,  so 
that  in  everything  God  may  be  glorified  through  Jesus 
Christ.  The  glory  and  the  dominion  are  his  for  ever  and 
ever:  Amen. 

12  Beloved,  do  not  be  surprised  at  the  ordeal  that  has  come 
to  test  you,  as  though  some  foreign  experience  befell  you. 

\.Z  You  are  sharing  what  Christ  suffered;  so  rejoice  in  it,  that 
you  may  also  rejoice  and  exult  when  his  glory  is  revealed. 

14  If  you  are  denounced  for  the  sake  of  Christ,  you  are 
blessed;  for  then  the  Spirit  of  glory  and  power,  the  Spirit 

15  of  Ood  himself,  is  resting  on  you.  None  of  you  must  suffer 
as  a  murderer  or  a  thief  or  a  bad  character  or  a  revolu- 

16  tionary;  but  if  a  man  suffers  for  being  a  Christian,  he  must 

17  not  be  ashamed,  he  must  rather  glorify  God  for  that.  It  is 
time  for  the  Judgment  to  begin  with  the  household  of  Ood; 

and  if  it  begins  with  us, 

what  will  be  the  fate  of  those  who  refuse  obedience  to 
God's  gospel? 

18  If  the  just  man  is  scarcely  saved, 

what  will  become  of  the  impious  and  sinful? 

19  So  let  those  who  are  suffering  by  the  will  of  God  trust  their 
souls  to  him,  their  faithful  Creator,  as  they  continue  to  do 
right. 


356  I.  PETER  V 

5  Now  I  make  this  appeal  to  your  presbyters  (for  I  am  a 
presbyter    myself,    I    was    a    witness    of    what    Christ 
suffered  and  I  am  to  share  the  glory  that  will  be  revealed), 

2  be  shepherds  to  your  flock  of  God;  take  charge  of  them 
willingly  *  instead  of  being  pressed  to  it,  not  to  make  a 

3  base  profit  from  it  but  freely,  not  by  way  of  lording  it  over 

4  your  charges  but  proving  a  pattern  to  the  flock.  Then  you 
will  receive  the  unfading  crown  of  glory,  when  the  chief 

5  Shepherd  makes  his  appearance.  You  younger  men  must 
also  submit  to  the  presbyters.  Indeed  you  must  all  put  on 
the  apron  of  humility  to  serve  one  another,  for 

the  haughty  God  opposes, 

hut  to  the  humMe  he  gives  grace. 

6  Humble  yourselves  under  the  strong  hand  of  God,  then, 

7  so  that  when  it  is  time,  he  may  raise  you;  let  all  your 
anxieties  lall  upon  him,  for  his  interest  is  in  you. 

8  Keep  cool,  keep  awake.  Your  enemy  the  devil  prowls 
like  a  roaring  lion,   looking   out  for  someone  to   devour. 

9  Resist  him;  keep  your  foothold  in  the  faith,  and  learn  to 
pay  the  same  tax  of  suffering  as  the  rest  of  your  brother- 

10  hood  throughout  the  world.  Once  you  have  suffered  for 
a  little,  the  God  of  all  grace  who  has  called  you  to  his 
eternal  glory  in  Christ  Jesus,  will  t  repair  and  recruit  and 

11  strengthen  you.  The  dominion  is  his  for  ever  and  ever: 
Amen. 

12  By  the  hand  of  Silvanus,  a  faithful  brother  (in  my 
opinion),  I  have  written  you  these  few  lines  of  encourage- 
ment, to  testify  that  this  is  what  the  true  grace  of  God 
means.     Stand  in  that  grace. 

13  Your    sister-church    in    Babylon,    elect    like    yourselves, 

14  salutes  you.  So  does  my  son  Mark.  Salute  one  another 
with  a  kiss  of  love. 

Peace  be  to  you  all  who  are  in  Christ  [Jesus]. 

*  Omitting  Kara  debv. 

t  Omitting  defxeXidbaeL  with  A  B,  the  Latin  and  Ethiopic  versions. 


THE  SECOND  EPISTLE  OF 

PETER 

ISymeon  Peter,  a  servant  and  apostle  of  Jesus  Christ, 
to  those  who  have  been  allotted  a  faith  of  equal  privilege 
with  ours,  by  the   equity  of  our  God   and   saviour  Jesus 

2  Christ:  grace  and  peace  be  multiplied  to  you  by  the  knowl- 

3  edge  of  *  our  Lord,  Inasmuch  as  his  power  divine  has 
bestowed  on  us  every  requisite  for  life  and  piety  by  the 
knowledge   of  him  who   called   us   to   his   own  glory   and 

4  excellence — bestowing  on  us  thereby  promises  precious 
and  supreme,  that  by  means  of  them  you  may  escape  the 
corruption  produced   within   the   world   by   lust,   and   par- 

5  ticipate  in  the  divine  nature — for  this  very  reason,  do  you 
contrive  to  make  it  your  whole  concern  to  furnish  your 

6  faith  with  resolution,  resolution  with  intelligence,  intelli- 
gence with  self-control,  self-control  with  stedfastness,  sted- 

7  fastness  with  piety,  piety  with  brotherliness,  brotherliness 

8  with  Christian  love.  For  as  these  qualities  exist  and  in- 
crease with  you,  they  render  you  active  and  fruitful  in  the 

9  knowledge  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ;  whereas  he  who  has 
not  these  by  him  is  blind,  shortsighted,  oblivious  that  he 

10  has  been  cleansed  from  his  erstwhile  sins.  So  be  the  more 
eager,  brothers,  to  ratify  your  calling  and  election,  for  as 

11  you  practise  these  qualities  you  will  never  make  a  slip;  you 
will  thus  be  richly  furnished  with  the  right  of  entry  into 
the  eternal  realm  of  our  Lord  and  saviour  Jesus  Christ. 

12  Hence  I  mean  to  keep  on  reminding  you  of  this,  although 

13  you  are  aware  of  it  and  are  fixed  in  the  Truth  as  it  is;  so 
long  as  I  am  in  this  tent,  I  deem  it  proper  to  stir  you  up 

14  by  way  of  reminder,  since  I  know  my  tent  must  be  folded 
up  very  soon — as  indeed  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  has  shown 

15  me.     Yes,  and  I  will  see  to  it  that  even  when  I  am  gone, 

16  you  will  keep  this  constantly  in  mind.  For  it  was  no 
fabricated  fables  that  we  followed  when  we  reported  to 
you  the  power  and  advent  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ;   we 

17  were  admitted  to  the  spectacle  of  his  sovereignty,  when  he 
was  invested  with  honour  and  glory  by  God  the  Father, 
and  when  the  following  voice  was  borne  to  him  from  t 

*  Omitting,  with  P  and  the  Latin  Vulgate,  tov  deov  K(d  ''Itjo-ov. 
t  Reading  with  the  Syriac  and  Latin  (Vulgate)  versions  dirb  instead 
of  vyrd. 

357 


358  11.  PETER  II 

the  sublime  Glory,  "This  is  my  son,  the  Beloved,  in  whom 

18  I  delight."     That  voice  borne  from  heaven  we  heard,  we 

19  who  were  beside  him  on  the  sacred  hill,  and  thus  we  have 
gained  fresh  confirmation  of  the  prophetic  word.  Pray 
attend  to  that  word;  it  shines  like  a  lamp  within  a  dark- 
some spot,  till  the  Day  dawns  and  the  daystar  rises  within 

20  your  hearts — understanding  this,  at  the  outset,  that  no 
prophetic  scripture  allows  a  man  to  interpret  it  by  himself; 

21  for  prophecy  never  came  by  human  impulse,  it  was  when 
carried  away  by  the  holy  Spirit  that  the  *  holy  men  of  God 
spoke. 

2  Still,  false  prophets  did  appear  among  the  People,  as 
among  you  also  there  will  be  false  teachers,  men  who 
will  insinuate  destructive  heresies,  even  disowning  the 
Lord  who  ransomed  them;  they  bring  rapid  destruction  on 

2  themselves,  and  many  will  follow  their  immorality  ( thanks 

3  to  them  the  true  Way  will  be  maligned);  in  their  lust 
they  will  exploit  you  with  cunning  arguments — men  whose 
doom  comes  apace  from  of  old,  and  destruction  is  awake 

4  upon  their  trail.  For  if  God  did  not  spare  angels  who  had 
sinned,  but  committing  them  to  pits  of  the  nether  gloom 
in  Tartarus,  reserved  them  under  punishment  t  for  doom: 

5  if  he  did  not  spare  the  ancient  world  but  kept  Noah,  the 
herald  of  righteousness,  safe  with  seven  others,  when  he 

6  let  loose  the  deluge  on  the  world  of  impious  men:  if  he 
reduced  the  cities  of  Sodom  and  Gomorra  to  ashes  when 
he    sentenced    them    to    devastation,    and    thus    gave    the 

7  impious  t  an  example  of  what  was  in  store  for  them,  but 
rescued  righteous  Lot  who  was  sore  burdened  by  the  im- 

8  moral  behaviour  of  the  lawless  (for  when  that  righteous 
man  resided  among  them,  by  what  he  saw  and  heard  his 
righteous  soul  was  vexed  day  after  day  with  their  unlawful 

9  doings) — then  be  sure  the  Lord  knows  how  to  rescue  pious 
folk  from  trial,  and  how  to  keep  the  unrighteous  under 

10  punishment  till  the  day  of  doom,  particularly  those  who 
fall  in  with  the  polluting  appetite  of  the  flesh  and  despise 
the    Powers    celestial.      Daring,    presumptuous    creatures! 

11  they  are  not  afraid  to  scoff  at  the  angelic  Glories;  whereas 
evfen  angels,  superior  in  might  and  power,  lay  no  scoffing 

12  charge  against  these  before  the  Lord.  But  those  people!  — 
like  irrational  animals,   creatures  of  mere  instinct,  born 

*  Reading  ol  S.yu)i  deov  &v6pwiroi  with  K  A,  the  Latin  version,  etc. 

t  Reading  with  X  A,  the  Latin  and  Egyptian  versions,  and  Syrphii 
KoXafo/x^wi/j  Trfp^iv  instead  of  T-qpovfi^yovi. 

t  Reading  6^efii(nv  (B  P  Syrh)  or  rois  dcre^^ffip  (sah  boh)  instead  of 
afff^itv.  As  Weizsacker  renders  it,  "  ein  Vorbild  des  Kommenden 
gcbend  fvir  die  Gottlosen." 


II.  PETER  III  359 

for  capture  and  corruption,  they  scoff  at  what  they  are 
ignorant  of;   and  like  animals  they  will  suffer  corruption 

13  and  ruin,  done  out  of  *  the  profits  of  their  evil-doing. 
Pleasure  for  them  is  revelling  in  open  daylight — spots  and 
hlots,  with  their  dissipated  revelling,  as  they  carouse  in  your 

14  midst! — their  eyes  are  full  of  harlotry,  insatiable  for  sin; 
their  own  hearts  trained   to  lust,   they  beguile   unsteady 

15  souls.  Accursed  generation!  they  have  gone  wrong  by 
leaving  the  straight  road,  by  following  the  road  of  Balaam 

16  son  of  Bosor,  who  liked  the  profits  of  evil-doing — but  he  got 
reproved  for  his  malpractice :  a  dumb  ass  spoke  with  human 

17  voice  and  checked  the  prophet's  infatuation.  These  people 
are  waterless  fountains  and  mists  driven  by  a  squall,  for 

18  whom  the  nether  gloom  of  darkness  t  is  reserved.  By  talk- 
ing arrogant  futilities  they  beguile  with  the  sensual  lure 
of  fleshly  passion  those  who  are  just  escaping  from  the 

19  company  of  misconduct — promising  them  freedom,  when 
they  are  themselves  enslaved  to  corruption   (for  a  man  is 

20  the  slave  of  whatever  overpowers  him).  After  escaping 
the  pollutions  of  the  world  by  the  knowledge  of  our  Lord 
and  saviour  Jesus  Christ,  if  they  get  entangled  and  over- 
powered again,  the  last  state  is  worse  for  them  than  the 

21  first.  Better  had  they  never  known  the  Way  of  righteous- 
ness, than  to  know  it  and  then  turn  back  from  the  holy 

22  command  which  was  committed  to  them.  They  verify  the 
truth  of  the  proverb: 

''The  dog  turns  back  to  tohat  he  has  vomited, 
the  sow  when  washed  will  wallow  in  the  mire." 

3  This  is  the  second  letter  I  have  already  written  to  you, 
beloved,   stirring  up  your  pure   mind  $   by  way  of  re- 

2  minder,  to  have  you  recollect  the  words  spoken  by  the  holy 
prophets    beforehand    and    the    command    given    by    your 

3  apostles  from  the  Lord  and  saviour.  To  begin  with,  you 
know  that  mockers  will  come  with  their  mockeries  in  the 
last    days,    men   who   go   by   their    own    passions,    asking, 

4  "Where  is  His  promised  advent?  Since  the  day  our  fathers 
fell  asleep,  things  remain  exactly  as  they  were  from  the 

5  beginning  of  creation."  They  wilfully  ignore  the  fact  that 
heavens  existed  long  ago,  and  an  earth  which  the  word 

6  of  God  formed  of  water  and  by  water.     By  water  the  then- 

7  existing  world  was  deluged  and  destroyed,  but  the  present 
heavens  and  earth  are  treasured  up  by  the  same  word  for 
fire,  reserved  for  the  day  when  the  impious  are  doomed  and 

*  Reading,  with  N*  B  P  SyrphH  arm  adiKoifxevoi  instead  of  KonLoOfxevoi. 
t  Omitting  [els  alQva], 

t  A  difficult  phrase,  referring  perhaps  to  freedom  from  the  contamina- 
tion of  heresies.     Reuss  renders,  "  votre  sain  jugement." 


360  II.  PETER  III 

8  destroyed.  Beloved,  you  must  not  ignore  this  one  fact, 
that  with  the  Lord  a  single  day  is  like  a  thousand  years, 

9  and  a  thousand  years  are  like  a  single  day.  The  Lord  is 
not  slow  with  what  he  promises,  according  to  certain  peo- 
ple's idea  of  slowness;  no,  he  is  longsuffering  for  your 
sake,*  he  does  not  wish  any  to  perish  but  all  to  betake 

10  them  to  repentance.  The  day  of  the  Lord  will  come  like 
a  thief,  when  the  heavens  will  vanish  with  crackling  roar, 
the  stars  will  be  set  ablaze  and  melt,  the  earth  and  all  its 

11  works  will  disappear.t  Now  as  all  things  are  thus  to  be 
dissolved,  what  holy  and  pious  men  ought  you  to  be  in  your 

12  behaviour,  you  who  expect  and  hasten  the  advent  of  the 
Day  of  God,  which  dissolves  the  heavens  in  fire  and  makes 

13  the  stars  blaze  and  melt!  It  is  new  heavens  and  a  new 
earth  that  we  expect,  as  He  has  promised,   and   in  them 

14  dwells  righteousness.  Then,  beloved,  as  you  are  expect- 
ing this,  be  eager  to  be  found  by  him  unspotted  and  un- 

15  blemished  in  serene  assurance.  And  consider  that  the  long- 
suffering  of  our  Lord  means  salvation;  as  indeed  our  be- 
loved brother  Paul  has  written  to  you  out  of  the  wisdom 

16  vouchsafed  to  him,  speaking  of  this  as  he  has  done  in  all 
his  letters — letters  containing  some  knotty  points,  which 
ignorant  and  unsteady  souls  twist   (as  they  do  the  rest  of 

17  the  scriptures)  to  their  own  destruction.  Now,  beloved,  you 
are  forewarned:  mind  you  are  not  carried  away  by  the 
error    of    the    lawless    and    so    lose    your    proper    footing; 

18  but  grow  in  the  grace  and  knowledge  of  our  Lord  and 
saviour  Jesus  Christ.  To  him  be  the  glory  now  and  to  the 
day  of  eternity:  Amen. 

*  Reading  5i'  with  X  A  Lat.  syr.  sah.,  etc. 

t  Adding  oi>x  before  evpedriaeTai  with  the  Sahidic  version. 


THE  FIRST  EPISTLE  OF 

JOHN 

1  It  is  of  what  existed  from  the  very  beginning,  of  what 
1  we  heard,  of  what  we  saw,  of  what  we  witnessed  and 
touched  with  our  own  hands,  it  is  of  the  Logos  of  Life 

2  (the  Life  has  appeared;  we  saw  it,  we  testify  to  it,  we  bring 
you    word    of   that    eternal   Life    which    existed    with   the 

3  Father  and  was  disclosed  to  us) — it  is  of  what  we  heard 
and  saw  that  we  bring  you  word,  so  that  you  may  share 
our  fellowship;  and  our  fellowship  is  with  the  Father  and 

4  with  his  Son  Jesus  Christ.  We  are  writing  this  to  you 
that  our  own  joy  may  be  complete. 

5  Here  is  the  message  we  learned  from  him  and  announce 
to  you:    'God  is  light  and   in  him  there   is  no  darkness, 

6  none.'  If  we  say,  'We  have  fellowship  with  him,'  when  we 
live  and  move  in  darkness,  then  we  are  lying,  we  are  not 

7  practising  the  truth;  but  if  we  live  and  move  within  the 
light,  as  he  is  within  the  light,  then  we  have  fellowship 
with  one  another,  and  the  blood  of  Jesus  his  Son  cleanses 

8  us  from  every  sin.     If  we  say,  'We  are  not  guilty,'  we  are 

9  deceiving  ourselves  and  the  truth  is  not  in  us;  if  we  con- 
fess   our   sins,   he   is   faithful    and    just,    he   forgives    our 

10  sins  and  cleanses  us  from  all  iniquity;  if  we  say,  "We  have 
not  sinned,"  we  make  him  a  liar  and  his  word  is  not  within 

2  us.  My  dear  children,  I  am  writing  this  to  you  that 

you  may  not  sin;   but  if  anyone  does  sin,  we  have  an 
2  advocate  with  the  Father  in  Jesus  Christ  the  just;   he  is 
himself  the  propitiation  for  our  sins,  though  not  for  ours 
alone  but  also  for  the  whole  world. 
8       This  is  how  we  may  be  sure  we  know  him,  by  obeying 

4  his  commands.  He  who  says,  'I  know  him,'  but  does  not 
obey  his  commands,  is  a  liar  and  the  truth  is  not  in  him; 

5  but  whoever  obeys  his  word,  in  him  love  to  God  is  really 
complete.     This  is  how  we  may  be  sure  we  are  in  him: 

6  he  who  says  he  'remains  in  him'  ought  to  live  as  he  lived. 

7  Beloved,  I  am  not  writing  you  any  new  command,  but 
an  old  command  which  you  have  had  from  the  very  begin- 

8  ning:  the  old  command  is  the  word  you  have  heard.  And 
yet  it  is  a  new  command  I  am  writing  to  you — realized  in 

361 


362  I.  JOHN     II 

him  and  also  in  yourselves,  because  the  darkness  is  pass- 

9  ing  away  and  the  true  light  is  already  shining.     He  who 

says  he  is  'in  the  light'  and  hates  his  brother,  is  in  dark- 

10  ness  still.     He  who  loves  his  brother  remains  in  the  light 

11  — and  in  the  light  there  is  no  pitfall;  but  he  who  hates  his 
brother  is  in  darkness,  he  walks  in  darkness  and  does  not 
know  where  he  is  going,  for  the  darkness  has  blinded  his 
eyes. 

12  My  dear  children,  I  am  writing  to  you, 

because  your  sins  are  forgiven  for  his  sake: 

13  fathers,  I  am  writing  to  you, 

because  you  know  him  who  is  from  the  very  beginning: 
young  men,  I  am  writing  to  you, 

because  you  have  conquered  the  evil  One. 
children,  I  have  written  to  you, 

because  you  know  the  Father: 

14  fathers,  I  have  written  to  you, 

because  you  know  him  who  is  from  the  very  beginninc: 
young  men,  I  have  written  to  you, 

because  you  are  strong,  and  the  word  of  God  remains 
within  you,  and  you  have  conquered  the  evil  One. 

15  Love  not  the  world,  nor  yet  what  is  in  the  world;  if  any- 
one loves  the  world,   love  for  the  Father  is  not  in  him. 

16  For  all  that  is  in  the  world,  the  desire  of  the  flesh  and 
the  desire  of  the  eyes  and  the  proud  glory  of  life,  belongs 

17  not  to  the  Father  but  to  the  world;  and  the  world  is  pass- 
ing away  with  its  desire,  while  he  who  does  the  will  of 
God  remains  for  ever. 

18  Children,  it  is  the  last  hour.  You  have  learned  that 
'Antichrist  is  coming.'     Well,  but  many  antichrists  have 

19  appeared — which  makes  us  sure  it  is  the  last  hour.  They 
withdrew  from  us,  but  they  did  not  belong  to  us;  had  they 
belonged  to  us,  they  would  have  remained  with  us,  but 
they  withdrew  to  make  it  plain  that  they  are  none  of  us. 

20  Now,  you  have  been  anointed  by  the  holy  One,  and   you 

21  all  possess  knowledge.  I  am  not  writing  to  you  because 
you  do  not  know  the  truth,  but  because  you  do  know  it, 
and  know  that  no  lie  has  any  connexion  with  the  truth. 

22  Who  is  the  real  liar? 

who  but  he  who  denies  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ? 
This  is  'antichrist,' 

he  who  disowns  the  Father  and  the  Son. 

23  No  one  who  disowns  the  Son  can  possess  the  Father: 
he  who  confesses  the  Son  possesses  the  Father  as  well. 

24  Let  that  remain  in  you  which  you  learned  from  the  very 
beginning;  if  what  you  learned  from  the  very  beginning 
remains  with  you,  then  you  will  remain  in  the  Son  and  in 
the  Father. 


I.  JOHN  III  363 

25  Now  this  is  what  he   has  promised   you,*   eternal   life. 

26  I  am  writing  to  you  in  this  way  about  those  who  would 

27  deceive  you,  but  the  unction  you  received  from  him  remains 
within  you,  and  you  really  need  no  teaching  from  anyone; 
simply  remain  in  him,  for  his  unction  teaches  you  about 
everything  and  is  true  and  is  no  lie — remain  in  him,  as  it 

28  has  taught  you  to  do.  Remain  within  him  now,  my  dear 
children,  so  that  when  he  appears,  we  may  have  confidence 

29  instead  of  shrinking  from  him  in  shame  at  his  arrival.  As 
you  know  he  is  just,  be  sure  that  everyone  who  practises 

3  righteousness  is  born  of  him.  'Born  of  him!'  Think 
what  a  love  the  Father  has  for  us,  in  letting  us  be  called 
'children  of  God!'  That  is  what  we  are.  The  world  does 
not  recognize  us?    That  is  simply  because  it  did  not  recog- 

2  nize  him.  We  are  children  of  God  now,  beloved;  what  we 
are  to  be  is  not  apparent  yet,  but  we  do  know  that  when 
he  appears,  we  are  to  be  like  him — for  we  are  to  see  him 

3  as   he    is.      And    everyone    who    rests    this    hope    on   him, 

4  purifies  himself  as  he  is  pure.     Everyone  who  commits  sin 

5  commits  lawlessness:  sin  is  lawlessness,  and  you  know  he 
appeared  to  take  [our]  sins  away.    In  him  there  is  no  sin; 

6  anyone  who  remains  in  him  does  not  sin — anyone  who  sins 
has  neither  seen  nor  known  him.    Let  no  one  deceive  you, 

7  my  dear  children:   he  who  practises  righteousness  is  just, 

8  as  He  is  just;  he  who  commits  sin  belongs  to  the  devil, 
for  the  devil  is  a  sinner  from  the  very  beginning.  (This 
is   why   the   Son   of   God   appeared,   to   destroy   the   deeds 

9  of  the  devil.)  Anyone  who  is  born  of  God  does  not 
commit    sin,    for    the    offspring    of    God    remain    in    Him, 

10  and  they  cannot  sin,  because  they  are  born  of  God.  Here 
is  how  the  children  of  God  and  the  children  of  the 
devil  are  recognized;  anyone  who  does  not  practise  right- 
eousness   does    not   belong   to    God,    and    neither    does    he 

11  who  has  no  love  for  his  brother.  For  this  is  the  message 
you  have  learned  from  the  very  beginning,  that  we  are  to 

12  love  one  another:  we  are  not  to  be  like  Cain,  who  belonged 
to  the  evil  One  and  slew  his  brother.  And  why  did  he  slay 
him?     Because  his  own  deeds  were  evil  and  his  brother's 

13  just.     Do  not  wonder,  brothers,  that  the  world  hates  you. 

14  We  know  we  have  crossed  from  death  to  life,  because  we 
love  the  brotherhood;  he  who  has  no  love  [for  his  brother] 

15  remains  in  death.  Anyone  who  hates  his  brother  is  a 
murderer,    and    you    know   no    murderer   has    eternal    life 

16  remaining  within  him.  We  know  what  love  is  by  this, 
that  He  laid  down  his  life  for  us;  so  we  ought  to  lay  down 

17  our  lives  for  the  brotherhood.     But  whoever  possesses  this 

*  Reading  vfJ-tv  instead  of  v/mv. 


364  I.  JOHN  IV 

world's  goods,  and  notices  his  brother  in  need,  and  shuts 
his  heart  against  him,  how  can  love  to  God  remain  in  him? 

18  My  dear  children,  let  us  put  our  love  not  into  words  or 
into  talk  but  into  deeds,  and  make  it  real. 

19  Thus  it  is  that  we  may  be  sure  we  belong  to  the  truth 

20  and  reassure  ourselves  whenever  our  heart  condemns  us; 
for    God    is    greater    than    our    heart,    and    he   knows   all. 

21  If  our  heart  does  not  condemn  us,  beloved,  then  we  have 

22  confidence  in  approaching  God,  and  we  get  from  him  what- 
ever we  ask,  because  we  obey  his  commands  and  do  what 

23  is  pleasing  in  his  sight.  Now  this  is  what  he  commands, 
that  we  believe  in  the  name  of  his  Son  Jesus  Christ,  and 

24  love  one  another  as  he  has  commanded  us  to  do;  he  who 
obeys  his  commands  remains  within  him — and  He  remains 
within  him.     And  this  is  how  we  may  be  sure  he  remains 

4  within   us,   by   means   of   the   Spirit   he   has   given   us. 
Do    not    believe    every    spirit,    beloved,    but    test    the 
spirits    to    see    if   they    come    from    God;    for   many   false 

2  prophets  have  emerged  in  the  world.  You  can  recognize 
the   Spirit   of  God   by  this:    every   spirit  which   confesses 

3  Jesus  as  the  Christ  incarnate  comes  from  God,  and  every 
spirit  which  does  not  confess  Jesus  [incarnate]  does  not 
come  from  God.  This  latter  is  the  spirit  of  antichrist; 
you  were  told  it  was  coming,  and  here  it  is  already  in  the 

4  world.  My  dear  children,  you  belong  to  God,  and  you  have 
conquered  all  such,  for  He  who  is  within  you  is  greater 
than  he  who  is  in  the  world. 

5  They  belong  to  the  world, 

therefore  they  speak  as  inspired  by  the  world, 
and  the  world  listens  to  them: 

6  we  belong  to  God — 

he  who  knows  God  listens  to  us, 

he  who  does  not  belong  to  God  does  not  listen  to  us. 
This  is  how  we  recognize  the  spirit  of  truth  and  the  spirit 
of  error. 

7  Beloved,  let  us  love  one  another,  for  love  belongs  to  God, 
and  everyone  who  loves  is  born  of  God  and  knows  God; 

8  he  who  does  not  love,  does  not  know  God,  for  God  is  love. 

9  This  is  how  the  love  of  God  has  appeared  for  us,  by  God 
sending  his  only  Son  into  the  world,  so  that  by  him  we 

10  might  live.  Love  lies  in  this,  not  in  our  love  for  him  but 
in  his  love  for  us — in  the  sending  of  his  Son  to  be  the 

11  propitiation  for  our  sins.    Beloved,  if  God  had  such  love  for 

12  us,  we  ought  to  love  one  another.  God  no  one  has  ever 
seen;  but  if  we  love  one  another,  then  God  remains  within 

13  us,  and  love  for  him  is  complete  in  us.  This  is  how  we 
may  be  sure  we  remain  in  him  and  he  in  us,  because  he  has 

14  given  us  a  share  in  his  own  Spirit;  and  we  have  seen,  we 


I.  JOHN  V  365 

can  testify,  that  the  Father  has  sent  the  Son  as  the  Saviour 

15  of  the  world.    Whoever  confesses  that  'Jesus  is  the  Son  of 

16  God/  in  him  God  remains,  and  he  remains  in  God;  well,  we 
do  know,  we  have  believed,  the  love  God  has  for  us. 

God  is  love,  and  he  who  remains  in  love  remains  in  God, 

17  and  God  remains  in  him.  Love  is  complete  with  us  when 
we  have  absolute  confidence  about  the  day  of  judgment, 

18  since  in  this  world  we  are  living  as  He  lives.  Love  has  no 
dread  in  it;  no,  love  in  its  fulness  drives  all  dread  away, 
for   dread  has  to   do   with   punishment — anyone   who  has 

19  dread,  has  not  reached  the  fulness  of  love.     We  love,  be- 

20  cause  He  loved  us  first.  If  anyone  declares,  'I  love  God,' 
and  yet  hates  his  brother,  he  is  a  liar;  for  he  who  will  not 
love  his  brother  whom  he  has  seen,  cannot  possibly  love  the 

21  God  whom  he  has  never  seen.  And  we  get  this  command 
from  him,  that  he  who  loves  God  is  to  love  his  brother  as 
well. 

5  Everyone  who  believes  Jesus  is  the  Christ,  is  born  of  God; 
and  everyone  who  loves  the  Father,   loves  the   sons  * 

2  born  of  him.     This  is  how  we  are  sure  that  we  love  God's 

3  children,  by  loving  God  and  obeying  his  commands  (for  love 
to  God  means  keeping  his  commands).    And  his  commands 

4  are  not  irksome,  for  whatever  is  born  of  God  conquers  the 
world.     Our  faith,  that  is  the  conquest  which  conquers  the 

5  world.     Who  is  the  world's  conqueror  but  he  who  believes 

6  that  Jesus  is  the  Son  of  God?    Jesus  Christ,  he  it  is  who 
came  by  water,  blood,  and  Spirit — not  by  the  water  alone, 

7  but  by  the  water  and  the  blood.    The  Spirit  is  the  witness 

8  to  this,  for  the  Spirit  is  truth.     The  witnesses  are  three, 
the   Spirit  and   the   water   and   the  blood,   and  the   three 

9  of  them  are  in  accord.     If  we  accept  human  testimony, 
God's  testimony  is  greater;    for  God's  testimony  consists 

10  in  his  testimony  to  his  Son.  He  who  believes  in  the  Son  of 
God  possesses  that  testimony  within  himself;  he  who  will 
not  believe  God,  has  made  God  a  liar  by  refusing  to  believe 

11  the  testimony  which  God  has  borne  to  his  Son.  And  the 
testimony  is,  that  God  gave  us  life  eternal  and  this  life  is 
in  his  Son. 

12  He  who  possesses  the  Son  possesses  life: 

he  who  does  not  possess  the  Son  does  not  possess  life. 

13  I  have  written  in  this  way  to  you  who  believe  in  the 
name  of  the  Son  of  God,  that  you  may  be  sure  you  have 

14  life  eternal.  Now  the  confidence  we  have  in  him  is  this,  that 
he  listens  to  us  whenever  we  ask  anything  in  accordance 

15  with  his  will;  and  if  we  know  he  listens  to  whatever  we 

*  The  Greek  word  is  singular.     It  may  be  taken  strictly,  as  meaning 
"  the  Son,"  or  generically  as  above  (see  the  next  verse). 


366  I.  JOHN  V 

ask,  we  know  we  obtain  the  requests  we  have  made  to  him. 

16  If  anyone  notices  his  brother  committing  a  sin  which  is 
not  deadly,  he  will  ask  and  obtain  life  for  him — for  anyone 
who  does  not  commit  a  deadly  sin.     There  is  such  a  thing 

17  as  deadly  sin;  I  do  not  mean  he  is  to  pray  for  that.  All 
iniquity  is  sin,  but  there  are  sins  which  are  not  deadly. 

18  We  know  that  anyone  who  is  born  of  God  does  not  sin; 
He  who  was  born  of  God  preserves  him,  and  the  evil  One 
never  catches  him. 

19  We  know  that  we  belong  to  God,  and  that  the  whole 
world  lies  in  the  power  of  the  evil  One. 

20  We  know  that  the  Son  of  God  has  come,  and  has  given 
us  insight  to  know  Him  who  is  the  Real  God;  and  we  are 
in  Him  who  is  real,  even  in  his  Son  Jesus  Christ.    This  is 

21  the  real  God,  this  is  life  eternal.  My  dear  children,  keep 
clear  of  idols. 


THE    SECOND   EPISTLE   OP 

JOHN 

IThe  presbyter,  to  the  elect  Lady  and  her  children  whom 
I  love  in  the  Truth  (and  not  only  I  but  all  who  know 

2  the   Truth)    for   the   sake   of   the    Truth   which   remains 

3  within  us  and  will  be  with  us  for  ever:  grace,  mercy, 
peace  will  be  with  us  from  God  the  Father  and  from  Jesus 
Christ  the  Son  of  the  Father,  in  truth  and  love. 

4  I  was  overjoyed  to  find  some  of  your  children  leading 
the  true  Life,  as  we  were  commanded  to  do  by  the  Father. 

5  And  now  I  entreat  you.  Lady — not  as  though  I  were  writing 
you  any  new  command,  it  is  the  command  which  we  have 

6  had  from  the  very  beginning — let  us  love  one  another.  To 
live  by  his  commands,  that  is  what  love  means:  and  the 
command  is,  live  in  love  as  you  have  learned  to  do  from 

7  the  very  beginning.  I  say  this,  because  a  number  of  im- 
postors have  emerged  in  the  world,  men  who  will  not  ac- 
knowledge the  coming  of  Jesus  Christ  in  the  flesh;    that 

8  marks  the  real  'impostor'  and  'antichrist.'  Watch  your- 
selves; you  must  not  lose  what  you  have  been  working  for, 

9  but  gain  a  full  reward.  Anyone  who  is  'advanced'  and  will 
not  remain  by  the  doctrine  of  Christ,  does  not  possess  God: 
he  who  remains  by  the  doctrine  of  Christ  possesses  both  the 

10  Father  and  the  Son.     If  anyone  comes  to  you  and  does  not 

11  bring  this  doctrine,  do  not  admit  him  to  the  house — do  not 
even  greet  him,  for  he  who  greets  him  shares  in  his  wicked 
work. 

12  I  have  a  great  deal  to  write  to  you,  but  I  do  not  mean  to 
use  ink  and  paper ;  I  hope  to  visit  you  and  have  a  talk  with 
you,  so  that  your  *  joy  may  be  unimpaired, 

13  The  children  of  your  elect  Sister  greet  you. 

*  Reading  with  A  B  and  several  versions,  vfidv,  instead  of  ^/twy. 


367 


THE  THIRD  EPISTLE  OF 

JOHN 

IThe  presbyter,  to  the  beloved  Gaius  whom  I  love  in  the 
Truth.     Beloved,  I  pray  you  may  prosper  in  every  way 

3  and  keep  well — as  indeed  your  soul  is  keeping  well.  For  I 
was  overjoyed  when  some  brothers  arrived  and  testified  to 
the  truth  of  your  life,  as  indeed  you  do  lead  the  true  Life; 

4  I  have  no  greater  joy  than  to  hear  of  my  children  living  in 

5  the  Truth.  Beloved,  you  are  acting  loyally  in  rendering 
any  service  to  the  brothers  and  especially  to  strangers; 

6  they  have  testified  to  your  love  before  the  church.     Pray 

7  speed  them  on  their  journey  worthily  of  God;  they  have 
started  out  for   his   sake   and   declined  to   take   anything 

8  from  pagans;  hence  we  are  bound  to  support  such  men,  to 
prove  ourselves  allies  of  the  Truth. 

9  I  have  written  to  the  church;  only,  Biotrephes,  who  likes 

10  to  take  the  lead  among  them,  repudiates  me.  So  when  I 
come,  I  shall  bring  up  what  he  is  doing,  babbling  against 
me  with  wicked  words — and,  not  satisfied  with  words,  he 
refuses  to  welcome  the  brothers,  checks  those  who  want  to 
welcome  them,  and  excommunicates  them  from  the  church. 

11  Beloved,  do  not  imitate  evil  but  good;  he  who  does  good 
belongs  to  God,  he  who  does  evil  has  never  seen  God. 

12  Everybody  testifies  to  Demetrius,  and  so  does  the  Truth 
itself:  I  testify  to  him  too,  and  you  know  my  testimony  is 
true. 

13  I  had  a  great  deal  to  write  to  you,  but  I  do  not  want  to 

14  write  to  you  with  ink  and  pen;  I  am  hoping  to  see  you 
soon,  and  we  will  have  a  talk. 

15  Peace  to  you!  The  friends  salute  you:  salute  the  friends 
one  by  one. 


368 


1 


THE  EPISTLE  OF 

JUDAS  (JUDE) 

Judas,  a  servant  of  Jesus  Christ  and  a  brother  of  James, 
to  those  who  have  been  called,  who  are  beloved  by  God 

2  the  Father  and  kept  by  Jesus  Christ:  mercy,  peace  and  love 
be  multiplied  to  you. 

3  Beloved,  my  whole  concern  was  to  write  to  you  on  the 
subject  of  our  common  salvation,  but  I  am  forced  to  write 
you  an  appeal  to  defend  the  faith  which  has  once  for  all 

4  been  committed  to  the  saints;  for  certain  persons  have 
slipped  in  by  stealth  (their  doom  has  been  predicted  long 
ago),  impious  creatures  who  pervert  the  grace  of  our  God 
into  immorality  and  disown  our  sole  liege  and  Lord,  Jesus 

5  Christ,  Now  I  want  to  remind  you  of  what  you  are  per- 
fectly aware,  that  though  the  Lord  once  *  brought  the 
People  safe  out  of  Egypt,  he  subsequently  destroyed  the  un- 

6  believing,  while  the  angels  who  abandoned  their  own 
domain,  instead  of  preserving  their  proper  rank,  are 
reserved  by  him  within  the  nether  gloom,  in  chains  eternal, 

7  for  the  doom  of  the  great  Day — just  as  Sodom  and  Gomorra 
and  the  adjacent  cities,  w^hich  similarly  glutted  themselves 
with  vice  and  sensual  perversity,  are  exhibited  as  a  warn- 
ing of  the   everlasting  fire   they  are   sentenced  to   suffer. 

8  Despite  it  all,  these  visionaries  pollute  their  flesh,  scorn 

9  the  Powers  celestial,  and  scoff  at  the  angelic  Glories.  Now 
tlie  very  archangel  Michael,  when  he  disputed  the  body  of 
Moses  with  Satan,  did  not  dare  to  condemn  him  with  scoffs; 

10  what  he  said  was,  The  Lord  rebuke  you!  But  these  people 
scoff  at  anything  they  do  not  understand;  and  whatever 
they  do  understand,  like  irrational  animals,  by  mere  in- 

11  stinct,  that  proves  their  ruin.  Woe  to  them!  they  go  the 
road  of  Cain,  rush  into  Balaam's  error  for  what  it  brings 

12  them,  and  perish  in  Korah's  rebellion.  These  people  are 
stains  on  your  love-feasts ;  they  have  no  qualms  about  carous- 
ing in  your  midst,  they  look  after  none  but  themselves — 
rainless  clouds,  swept  along  by  the  wind,  trees  in  autumn 

13  without  fruit,   doubly  dead  and  so  uprooted,  wild  waves 

*  ctTra^  must  be  connected,  as  in  the  Syriac  and  Egyptian  versions,  with 
o-uxras,  not  with  dddras  as  in  most  manuscripts. 

369 


370  JUDAS   (JUDE 

foaming  out  their  own  shame,  wandering  stars  for  whom 
the  nether  gloom  of  darkness  has  been  reserved  eternally. 

14  It  was  of  these,  too,  that  Enoch  the  seventh  from  Adam 
prophesied,  when  he  said. 

Behold  the  Lord  comes  with  myriads  of  his  holy  ones, 

15  to  execute  judgment  upon  all, 
and  to  convict  all  the  impious 

of  all  the  impious  deeds  they  have  committed, 
and  of  all  the  harsh  things  said  against  him  hy  impious 
sinners. 

16  For  these  people  are  murmurers,  grumbling  at  their  lot  in 
life — they  fall  in  with  their  own  passions,  their  talk  is 
arrogant,  they  pay  court  to  men  to  benefit  themselves. 

17  Now,    beloved,    you    must    remember    the   words   of    the 

18  apostles  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ;  they  told  you  before- 
hand, "At  the  end  of  things  there  will  be  mockers  who 

19  go  by  their  own  impious  passions."  These  are  the  people 
who  set  up  divisions  and  distinctions,  sensuous  creatures, 

20  destitute  of  the  Spirit.  But  do  you,  beloved,  build  up  your- 
selves on  your  most  holy  faith  and  pray  in  the  holy  Spirit, 

21  so  keeping  yourselves  within  the  love  of  God  and  waiting 
for  the  mercy  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  that  ends  in  life 

II  eternal.  Snatch  some  from  the  fire,  and  have  mercy  on  the 
waverers,  *  trembling  as  you  touch  them,  with  loathing 
for  the  garment  which  the  flesh  has  stained. 

24  Now  to  him  who  is  able  to  keep  you  from  slipping  and 
to  make  your  stand  unblemished  and  exultant  before  his 

25  glory — to  the  only  God,  our  saviour  through  Jesus  Christ 
our  Lord,  be  glory,  majesty,  dominion  and  authority,  before 
all  time  and  now  and  for  all  time:  Amen. 

*  Reading  kcu  ovs  ixkv  4k  irvpbs  apird^ere,  diaKpiPO/uUvovs  5^  Aearc,  with 
SyrpWi  Clement  and  Jerome. 


THE  REVELATION 

OF  ST.  JOHN 

1A  REVELATION  by  Jesus  Christ,  which  God  granted  him 
for  his  servants,  to  show  them  loliat  must  come  to  pass 
very  soon;  he  disclosed  it  by  sending  it  through  his  angel 

2  to  his  servant  John,  who  now  testifies  to  what  is  God's  word 

3  and  Jesus  Christ's  testimony — to  what  he  saw.  Blessed  is 
he  who  reads  aloud,  blessed  they  who  hear  the  words  of  this 
prophecy  and  lay  to  heart  what  is  written  in  it;  for  the 
time  is  near. 

4  John  to  the  seven  churches  in  Asia:  grace  be  to  you  and 
peace  from  he  who  is  and  was  and  is  coming,  and  from 

5  the  seven  Spirits  before  his  throne,  and  from  Jesus  Christ 
the  faithful  witness,  the  first-horn  from  the  dead,  and  the 
prince  over  the  kings  of  earth;  to  him  who  loves  us  and 

6  has  loosed  us  from  our  sins  by  shedding  his  blood— he  has 
made  us  a  realm  of  priests  for  his  God  and  Father, — to 
him   be   glory   and   dominion   for   ever    and   ever:    Amen. 

7  Lo,  he  is  coining  on  the  clouds,  to  be  seen  by  every  eye, 
even  by  those  who  impaled  him,  and  all  the  tribes  of  earth 

8  tvill  tvail  because  of  him:  even  so.  Amen.  "/  am  the  alpha 
and  the  omega,"  saith  the  Lord  God,  who  is  and  was  and 
is  coming,  the  almighty. 

9  I  John,  your  brother  and  your  companion  in  the  distress 
and  realm  and  patient  endurance  which  Jesus  brings,  found 
myself  in  the  island  called  Patmos,  for  adhering  to  God's 

10  word  and  the  testimony  of  Jesus.  On  the  Lord's  day  I 
found  myself  rapt  in  the  Spirit,  and  I  heard  a  loud  voice 

11  behind  me  like  a  trumpet  calling,  "Write  your  vision  in  a 
book,  and  send  it  to  the  seven  churches,  to  Ephesus  and 
Smyrna  and  Pergamum  and  Thyatira  and  Sardis  and  Phil- 

12  adelphia  and  Laodicea."  So  I  turned  to  see  whose  voice  it 
was  that  spoke  to  me;  and  on  turning  round  I  saw  seven 

13  golden  lampstands  and  in  the  middle  of  the  lampstands  One 
who  reseinbled  a  human  being,  with  a   long  robe,  and  a 

14  belt  of  gold  round  his  breast;  his  head  and  hair  were 
ivhite  as  wool,  white  as  snow;  his  eyes  flashed  like  fire, 

15  his  feet  glowed  like  burnished  bronze,   his  voice  sounded 

16  like  many  waves,  in  his  right  hand  he  held  seven  stars,  a 
sharp  sword  with  a  double  edge  issued  from  his  mouth,  and 

17  his  face  shone  like  the  sun  in  full  strength.  When  I  saw 
him,  I  fell  at  his  feet  like  a  dead  man;   but  he  laid  his 

371 


372  REVELATION  II 

hand  on  me,  saying,  "Do  not  ie  afraid;  I  am  the  First  and 

18  Last*  1  was  dead  and  here  I  am  alive  for  evermore,  hold- 

19  ing  the  keys  that  unlock  death  and  Hades.     Write  down 

20  your  vision  of  what  is  and  what  is  to  he  hereafter.  As  for 
the  secret  symbol  of  the  seven  stars  which  you  have  seen 
in  my  right  hand,  and  of  the  seven  golden  lampstands — the 
seven  stars  are  the  angels  of  the  seven  churches,  and 
r>  the  seven  lampstands  are  the  seven  churches.  To  the 
^  angel  of  the  church  at  Ephesus  write  thus: — These  are 
the  words  of  him  who  holds  the  seven  stars  in  his  right 

2  hand,  who  moves  among  the  seven  golden  lampstands:  I 
know  your  doings,  your  hard  work  and  your  patient  endur- 
ance; I  know  that  you  cannot  bear  wicked  men,  and  that 
you  have  tested  those  who  style  themselves  apostles    (no 

3  apostles  they!)  and  detected  them  to  be  liars;  I  know  that 
you    are   enduring   patiently    and   have   borne   up   for   my 

4  sake  and  have  not  wearied.  But  I  have  this  against  you: 
you  have  given  up  loving  one  another  as  you  did  at  first. 

5  Now,  remember  the  height  from  which  you  have  fallen; 
repent  and  act  as  you  did  at  first.  If  not,  I  will  come  to 
you   [very  soon]   and  remove  your  lampstand,  unless  you 

6  repent.     Still,  you  have  this  in  your  favour:  you  hate  the 

7  practices  of  the  Nicolaitans,  and  I  hate  them  too.  Let  any- 
one who  has  an  ear  listen  to  what  the  Spirit  says  to  the 
churches:  'The  conqueror  I  will  allow  to  eat  from  the  tree 

8  of  Life  which  is  within  the  paradise  of  God.'  Then  to  the 
angel  of  the  church  at  Smyrna  write  thus: — These  are  the 
words  of  the  First  and  Last,  who  was  dead  and  came  to 

9  life:  I  know  your  t  distress  and  your  poverty  (but  you  are 
rich!) ;  I  know  how  you  are  being  slandered  by  those  who 
style  themselves  Jews  (no  Jews  are  they,  but  a  mere  syna- 

10  gogue  of  Satan! ).  Have  no  fear  of  what  you  are  to  suffer. 
The  devil  indeed  is  going  to  put  some  of  you  in  prison, 
that  you  may  be  tested;  you  will  have  a  distressful  ten 
days.    Be  faithful,  though  you  have  to  die  for  it,  and  I  will 

11  give  you  the  crown  of  Life.  Let  anyone  who  has  an  ear 
listen  to  what  the  Spirit  says  to  the  churches:    'The  con- 

12  queror  shall  not  be  injured  by  the  second  death.'  Then  to 
the  angel  of  the  church  at  Pergamum  write  thus: — ^These 
are  the  words  of  him  who  wields  the  sharp  sword  with  the 

13  double  edge:  I  know  where  you  dwell,  where  Satan  sits 
enthroned,  and  yet  you  adhere  to  my  Name,  you  have  not 
renounced  your  faith  in  me  even  during  the  days  when 
my  witness,  my  faithful   Antipas,   was  martyred  in  your 

*  The  words  '  and  the  living  One  '    (fat  6  ^wv)  have  been  added  as  a 
gloss  from  the  next  verse. 

t  Omitting,  as  in  ver.  13,  [to.  tp-ya  Kal]. 


REVELATION  III  373 

14  midst — where  Satan  dwells.  But  I  have  one  or  two  things 
against  you:  you  have  some  adherents  there  of  the  tenets 
of  Balaam,  who  taught  Balak  how  to  set  a  pitfall  before 
the  sons  of  Israel  by  making  them  eat  food  which  had  been 
sacrificed  to  idols  and  give  way  to  sexual  vice.     So  even 

15  with  you;  you  likewise  have  some  adherents  of  the  tenets 

16  of  the  Nicolaitans.  Repent;  if  not,  I  will  very  soon  come  to 
you  and  make  war  upon  them  with  the  sword  of  my  mouth. 

17  Let  anyone  who  has  an  ear  listen  to  what  the  Spirit  says 
to  the  churches:  'The  conqueror  /  will  allow  to  share  the 
hidden  manna,  and  I  will  give  him  a  white  stone  inscribed 
with  a  new  name,  unknown  to  any  except  him  who  receives 

18  it.'  Then  to  the  angel  of  the  church  at  Thyatira  write 
thus: — These  are  the  words  of  the  Son  of  God,  whose  eyes 

19  flash  like  fire  and  whose  feet  glow  like  bronze.  I  know 
your  doings,  your  love  and  loyalty  and  service  and  patient 
endurance;    I  know  you  are  doing  more  than  you  did  at 

20  first.  Still  I  have  this  against  you:  you  are  tolerating  that 
Jezebel  of  a  woman  who  styles  herself  a  prophetess  and 
seduces  my  servants  by  teaching  them  to  give  way  to  sexual 
vice  and  to  eat  food  which  has  been  sacrificed  to  idols,. 

21  I  have  given  her  time  to  repent,  but  she  refuses  to  repent 

22  of  her  sexual  vice.  Lo,  I  will  lay  her  on  a  sickbed,  and 
bring   her   paramours   into   sore    distress,   if   they   do   not 

23  repent  of  her  practices;  and  her  children  I  will  exterminate. 
So  shall  all  the  churches  know  that  I  am  the  searcher  of 
the  inmost  heart;  I  will  requite  each  of  you  according  to 

24  what  you  have  done.  But  for  the  rest  of  you  at  Thyatira, 
for  all  who  do  not  hold  these  tenets,  for  those  who  have 
not  (in  their  phrase)  'fathomed  the  deep  mysteries  of 
Satan' — for  you  this  is  my  word:  I  impose  no  fresh  burden 

25  on  you;   only  hold  to  what  you  have,  till  such  time  as  I 

26  come.  'And  the  conqueror,  he  who  till  the  end  lays  to  heart 
what  I  enjoin,  I  tvill  give  him  authority  over  the  nations — 

27  aye,  he  icill  shepherd  them  with  an  iron  flail, 
shattering  them  like  a  potter's  jars — 

as    I    myself   have    received    authority   from    my   Father;* 

28  also  I  will  grant  him  to  see  the  Morning-star.'  Let  anyone 
who  has  an  ear  listen  to  what  the  Spirit  says  to  the 
churches. 

3  Then  to  the  angel  of  the  church  at  Sardis  write  thus: 
— These   are   the   words   of  him   who   holds   the   seven 
Spirits  of  God  and  the  seven  stars:   I  know  your  doings, 

2  you  have  the  name  of  being  alive,  but  you  are  dead.  Wake 
up,  rally  what  is  still  left  to  you,  though  it  is  on  the  very 
point  of  death ;  for  I  find  nothing  you  have  done  is  complete 

3  in  the  eyes  of  my  God.  Now  remember  what  you  received 
and  heard,  hold  to  it  and  repent.    If  you  will  not  wake  up. 


374  REVELATION  III 

I  shall  come  like  a  thief;  you  will  not  know  at  what  hour  I 

4  come  upon  you.  Still,  you  have  a  few  souls  at  Sardis  who 
have  not  soiled  their  raiment;  they  shall  walk  beside  me  in 

5  white,  for  they  deserve  to.  'The  conqueror  shall  be  clad  in 
white  raiment;  I  will  never  erase  his  name  from  the  'booh 
of  Life,  but  will  own  him  openly  before  my  Father  and 

6  before  his  angels.'     Let  anyone  who  has  an  ear  listen  to 

7  what  the  Spirit  says  to  the  churches.  Then  to  the  angel  of 
the  church  at  Philadelphia  write  thus: — These  are  the 
words  of  the  true  Holy  One,  who  holds  the  key  of  David, 
who  opens  and  none  shall  shut,  ivho  sMits  and  none  shall 

8  open*  Lo,  I  have  set  a  door  open  before  you  which  no  one 
is  able  to  shut;  for  though  your  strength  is  small,  you  have 

9  kept  my  word,  you  have  not  renounced  my  Name.  Lo,  I 
will  make  those  who  belong  to  that  synagogue  of  Satan,  who 
style  themselves  Jews  (no  Jews  are  they,  but  liars!) — lo, 
I  will  have  them  come  and  do  homage  hefore  your  feet  and 

10  learn  that  I  did  love  you.  Because  you  have  kept  the  word 
of  my  patient  endurance,  I  will  keep  you  safe  through  the 
hour  of  trial  which  is  coming  upon  the  whole  world  to  test 

11  the  dwellers  on  earth.     I  am  coming  very  soon:    hold  to 

12  what  you  have,  in  case  your  crown  is  taken  from  you.  'As 
for  the  conqueror,  I  will  make  him  a  pillar  in  the  temple 
of  my  God  (nevermore  shall  he  leave  it),  and  I  will  inscribe 
on  him  the  name  of  my  God,  the  name  of  the  city  of  my 
God    (the   new  Jerusalem   which   descends   out   of  heaven 

13  from  my  God),  and  my  own  neiv  name.'  Let  anyone  who 
has  an  ear  listen  to  what  the  Spirit  says  to  the  churches. 

14  Then  to  the  angel  of  the  church  at  Laodicea  write  thus: 
These  are  the  words  of  the  Amen,  the  faithful  and  true 

15  witness,  the  origin  of  God's  creation.  I  know  your  doings, 
you  are  neither  cold  nor  hot — would  you  were  either  cold 

16  or  hot!      So,  because  you  are  lukewarm,  neither  hot  nor 

17  cold,  I  am  going  to  spit  you  out  of  my  mouth.  You  declare, 
'I  am  rich,  /  am  ivcll  off,  I  lack  nothing!' — not  knowing 
you  are  a  miserable  creature,  pitiful,  poor,  blind,  naked. 

'18  I  advise  you  to  buy  from  me  gold  refined  in  the  fire,  that 
you  may  be  rich,  white  raiment  to  clothe  you  and  prevent 
the  shame  of  your  nakedness  from  being  seen,  and  salve  to 

19  rub  on  your  eyes,  that  you  may  see.  I  reprove  and  disci- 
pline those  whom  I  love;  so  be  in  warm  earnest  and  repent. 

20  Lo,  I  stand  at  the  door  and  knock;  if  anyone  hears  my 
voice  and  opens  the  door,  I  will  come  in  and  sup  with  him, 

21  and  he  with  me.  'The  conqueror  I  will  allow  to  sit  beside 
me  on  my  throne,  as  I  myself  have  conquered  and  sat  down 

*  Omitting  (with  Primasius)  oldd  aov  ra  ffrya,  '  I  know  your  doings,'  a 
harmonistic  gloss  which  interrupts  the  connexion  of  thought. 


REVELATION  IV,  V  375 

22  beside  my  Father  on  his  throne.'  Let  anyone  who  has 
an  ear  listen  to  what  the  Spirit  says  to  the  churches." 

4  After  this  I  looked,  and  there  was  a  door  standing  open 
in  heaven!      And  the  first  voice   I  had  heard  talking 
with  me  like  a  trumpet  said,  "Come  up  here,  and  I  will 

2  show  you  what  must  come  to  pass  after  this."  At  once  I 
found  myself  rapt  in  the  Spirit;  and  lo  a  Throne  stood  in 

3  heaven  with  One  seated  on  the  throne — the  seated  One  re- 

4  sembled  in  appearance  jasper  and  sardius — and  round  the 
throne  a  rainbow  resembling  emerald  in  appearance;  also 
round  the  throne  four  and  twenty  thrones,  and  on  these 
thrones  four  and  twenty  Presbyters  seated,  who  were  clad 
in  white   raiment  with  golden  crowns  upon   their  heads. 

5  From  the  throne  issue  flashes  of  lightning  and  loud  l)lasts 

6  and  peals  of  thunder.  And  in  front  of  the  throne  seven 
torches  of  fire  burn  (they  are  the  seven  Spirits  of  God) ;  also 
in  front  of  the  throne  there  is  like  a  sea  of  glass,  resembling 
crystal.    And  on  each  side  of  the  throne,  all  round  it,  four 

7  living  Creatures  full  of  eyes  inside  and  outside;  the  first 
living  Creature  resembling  a  lion,  the  second  living  Crea- 
ture resembling  an  ox,  the  third  living  Creature  with  a  face 
like  a  man's,  the  fourth  living  Creature  like  a  flying  eagle. 

8  The  four  living  Creatures,  each  with  six  wings  apiece,  are 
full  of  eyes  all  over  their  bodies  and  under  their  wings,  and 
day  and  night  they  never  cease  the  chant, 

''Holy,  holy,  holy,  is  the  Lord  God  almighty, 
who  was  and  is  and  is  coming." 

9  And  whenever  the  living  Creatures  render  glory  and  honour 
and  thanksgiving  to  him  who  is  seated  on  the  throne,  who 

10  lives  for  ever  and  ever,  the  four  and  twenty  Presbyters  fall 
down  before  him  who  is  seated  on  the  throne,  worshipping 
Mm  who  lives  for  ever  and  ever,  and  casting  their  crowns 
before  the  throne,  with  the  cry, 

11  "Thou  deservest,  our  Lord  and  God,*  to  receive  glory  and 

honour  and  power, 
for  it  was  thou  who  didst  create  all  things: 
they  existed  and  were  created  by  thy  will." 

5  Then  I  saw  lying  on  the  right  hand  of  him  who  was 
seated  on  the  throne,  a  scroll  with  writing  on  the  back 

2  as  well  as  inside,  sealed  with  seven  seals.  And  I  saw  a 
strong  angel  exclaiming  with  a  loud  voice,  "Who  is  fit  to 

3  open  the  scroll,  to  break  the  seals  of  it?"  But  no  one 
was  fit,  either  in  heaven  or  on  earth  or  underneath  the 

4  earth,  to  open  the  scroll  or  look  into  it.    So  I  began  to  weep 

♦Omitting  [6  ^^7105]. 


376  REVELATION  VI 

bitterly  because   no   one  had  been   found   fit  to   open   the 

5  scroll  or  look  into  it;  taut  one  of  the  Presbyters  told  me, 
"Weep  not;  lo,  the  Lion  of  Judah's  tribe,  the  Scion  of 
David,  he  has  won  *  the  power  of  opening  the  scroll  and  its 

6  seven  seals."  Then  I  noticed  a  Lamb  standing  in  the  midst 
of  the  throne  and  the  four  living  Creatures  and  the  Pres- 
byters; it  seemed  to  have  been  slain,  but  it  had  seven 
heads  and  seven  eyes   (they  are  the  seven  Spirits  of  God 

7  sent  out  into  all  the  earth),  and  it  went  and  took  the  scroll 
out  of  the  right  hand  of  him  who  loas  seated  on  the  throne. 

8  And  when  it  took  the  scroll,  the  four  living  Creatures 
and  the  four  and  twenty  Presbyters  fell  down  before  the 
Lamb,  each  with  his  harp  and  with  golden  bowls  full  of 

9  incense  (that  is,  full  of  tJie  prayers  of  the  saints),  singing 
a  new  song: 

"Thou  deservest  to  take  the  scroll  and  open  its  seals, 
for  thou  wast  slain  and  by  shedding  thy  blood  hast  ran- 
somed fcr  God  men  from  every  tribe  and  tongue  and 
people  and  nation; 

10  thou  hast  made  them  kings  and  priests  for  our  God,  and 

they  shall  reign  on  earth." 

11  Then  I  looked,  and  I  heard  the  voice  of  many  angels  round 
the  throne  and  of  the  living  Creatures  and  of  the  Presby- 
ters, numbering  myriads  of  myriads  and  thousands  of  thou- 

12  sands,  crying  aloud,  "The  slai7i  Lamb  deserves  to  receive 
power  and  wealth  and  wisdom  and  might  and  honour  and 

13  glory  and  blessing."  And  I  heard  every  creature  in  heaven 
and  on  earth  and  under  the  earth  crying,  "Blessing  and 
honour  and  glory  and  dominion  for  ever  and  ever,  to  him 

14  who  is  seated  on  the  throne  and  to  the  Lamb!"  "Amen," 
said  the  four  living  Creatures,  and  the  Presbyters  fell  down 
and  worshipped. 

And  when  the  Lamb  opened  one  of  the  seven  seals,  I 
looked,  and   I  heard   one  of  the  four  living  Creatures 

2  calling  like  thunder,  "Come."  t  So  I  looked,  and  there  was 
a  white  horse,  its  rider  holding  a  bow;  he  was  given  a 
crown,  and  away  he  rode  conquering  and  to  conquer. 

3  And  when  he  opened  the  second  seal,  I  heard  the  second 

4  living  Creature  calling,  "Come."  And  away  went  another 
red  horse;  its  rider  was  allowed  to  take  peace  from  the 
earth  and  to  make  men  slay  each  other;  he  was  given 
a  huge  sword. 

5  And  when  he  opened  the  third  seal,  I  heard  the  third 
living  Creature  calling,   "Come."     So   I   looked  and   there 

*  Literally,  "  has  conquered  (see  iii.  21),  so  that  he  can  open." 
t  Addressed  either  to  the  seer  or,  more  probably,   to  the  mounted 
figures. 


6 


REVELATION  VII  377 

was  a  black  horse;  its  rider  held  a  pair  of  scales  in  his 

6  hand,  and  I  heard  like  a  voice  in  the  midst  of  the  four 
living  Creatures  saying,  "A  shilling  for  a  quart  of  wheat, 
a  shilling  for  three  quarts  of  barley;  but  harm  not  oil  and 
wine!" 

7  And  when  he  opened  the  fourth  seal,  I  heard  the  voice 

8  of  the  fourth  living  Creature  calling,  "Come."  So  I  looked, 
and  there  was  a  livid  horse;  its  rider's  name  was  Death, 
and  Hades  followed  him.  They  were  given  power  over  the 
fourth  part  of  the  earth,  to  kill  men  tvith  sword  and  famine 
and  jilague  and  by  the  wild  beasts  of  the  earth. 

9  And  when  he  opened  the  fifth  seal,  I  saw  underneath  the 
altar  the  souls  of  those  who  had  been  slain  for  adhering 
to    God's    word    and    to    the    testimony   which    they   bore; 

10  and  they  cried  aloud,  "0  Sovereign  Lord,  holy  and  true, 
how  long  wilt  thou  refrain  from  charging  and  avenging  our 

11  blood  upon  those  who  divell  on  earth?''  But  they  were 
each  given  a  white  robe,  and  told  to  remain  quiet  for  a 
little  longer,  until  their  number  was  completed  by  their 
fellow-servants  and  their  brothers  who  were  to  be  killed 
like  themselves. 

12  And  when  he  opened  the  sixth  seal,  I  looked;  and  a  great 
earthquake  took  place,  the  sun  turned  black  as  sackcloth, 

13  the  full  moon  turned  like  blood,  the  stars  of  the  sky  dropped 
to  earth  as  a  fig  tree  shaken  by  a  gale  sheds  her  unripe 

14  figs,  the  sky  was  swept  aside  like  a  scroll  being  folded  up, 
and  every  mountain  and  island  was  moved  out  of  its  place. 

15  Then  the  kings  of  the  earth,  the  magnates,  the  generals, 
the  rich,  the  strong,  slaves  and  freemen  everyone  of  them, 

16  hid  in  caves  and  among  the  rocks  of  the  mountains,  calling 
to  the  mountains  and  the  rocks,  ''Fall  upon  us  and  hide  us 
from  the  face  of  him  who  is  seated  on  the  throne  and  from 

17  the  anger  of  the  Lamb;  for  the  great  Day  of  their  anger 
has  come,  and  who  can  stand  it?" 

7  After  that  I  saw  four  angels  standing  at  the  four  corners 
of  the  earth,  holding  back  the  four  winds  from  blowing- 

2  on  the  earth  or  on  the  sea  or  on  any  tree.  And  I  saw 
another  angel  rise  up  from  the  east,  with  the  seal  of  the 
living  God;  he  shouted  aloud  to  the  four  angels  who  were 

3  allowed  to  injure  the  earth  and  sea,  "Do  no  harm  to  earth 
or  sea  or  trees,  until  we  seal  the  servants  of  our  God  upon 

4  their  foreheads"  And  I  heard  what  was  the  number  of 
the  sealed — a  hundred  and  forty-four  thousand  sealed  from 

5  every  tribe  of  the  sons  of  Israel,  twelve  thousand  sealed 
from  the  tribe  of  Judah,  twelve  thousand  from  the  tribe  of 

7  Reuben,  twelve  thousand  from  the  tribe  of  Simeon,  twelve 
thousand  from  the  tribe  of  Levi,  twelve  thousand  from  the 

8  tribe    of    Issachar,    twelve    thousand    from    the    tribe    of 


378  REVELATION  VIII 

Zebulun,  twelve  thousand  from  the  tribe  of  Joseph,  twelve 
thousand   from   the   tribe   of   Benjamin  *    twelve   thousand 

6  from  the  tribe  of  Gad,  twelve  thousand  from  the  tribe  of 
Asher,  twelve  thousand  from  the  tribe  of  Naphtali,  twelve 
thousand  sealed  from  the  tribe  of  Manasseh. 

9  After  that  I  looked,  and  there  was  a  great  host  whom  no 
one  could  count,  from  every  nation  and  tribe  and  people 
and  tongue,  standing  t  before  the  throne  and  before  the 
Lamb,   clad   in   white   robes,   with   palm-branches   in   their 

10  hands;  and  they  cried  with  a  loud  voice,  "Saved  by  our 
God   who    is   seated    on    the    throne,    and    by   the    Lamb!" 

11  And  all  the  angels  surrounded  the  throne  and  the  Presby- 
ters and  the  four  living  Creatures,  and  fell  on  their  faces 

12  before  the  throne,  worshipping  God  and  crying,  "Even  so! 
Blessing  and  glory  and  wisdom  and  thanksgiving  and 
honour  and  power  and  might  be  to  our  God  for  ever  and 

13  ever:  Amen!"  Then  one  of  the  Presbyters  addressed  me, 
saying,  "Who  are  these,  clad  in  white  robes?  where  have 

14  they  come  from?"  I  said  to  him,  "You  know,  my  lord." 
So  he  told  me,  "These  are  the  people  who  have  come  out  of 
the  great  Distress,  who  washed  their  robes  and  made  them 
white  in  the  Mood  of  the  Lamb. 

15  For  this  they  are  now  before  the  throne  of  God, 

serving  ±  him  day  and  night  within  his  temple, 
and  he  who  is  seated  on  the  throne  shall  overshadow 
them, 

16  Never   again   will   they   hunger,   never   again   will   they 

thirst, 
never   shall   the  sun   strihe   them,   nor  any  scorching 
heat; 

17  for  the  Lamb  in  the  midst  of  the  throne  will  he  their 

shepherd, 
guiding  them  to  fountains  of  living  water; 
and  God  will  wipe  every  tear  from  their  eyes." 

8  And  when  he  opened  the  seventh  seal,  silence  reigned 
in  heaven   for  about  half-an-hour.     Then   I   saw  seven 
trumpets  being  given  to  the  seven  angels  who  stand  before 

3  God.  And  another  angel  went  and  stood  at  the  altar  with 
a  golden  censer;  he  was  given  abundant  incense,  to  be 
laid   with   the  prayers  of  all   the   saints  upon  the  golden 

4  altar  in  front  of  the  throne;  and  the  smoke  of  the  incense 

*  The  simple  transposition  of  5c-6  to  a  place  after  8,  as  Dr.  G.  B.  Gray 
has  pointed  out  {Encyclopaedia  Biblica  5209),  yields  a  far  more  normal 
list  of  the  tribes. 

t  In  contrast  to  the  dread  of  i-i.  17,  and  in  Una  with  the  thought  of 
Luke  xxi.   36. 

X  In  the  sense  of  worship,  as  in  xxii.  3. 


REVELATION  IX  379 

with  the  prayers  of  all  the  saints  rose  up  from  fhe  angel's 

5  hand  before  God.  And  the  angel  took  the  censer,  filled 
it  with  fire  from  the  altar,  and  poured  it  on  the  earth;  then 
followed  peals  of  thunder,  loud  blasts,  flashes  of  lightning, 

6  and  an  earthquake.     And  the  seven  angels  with  the  seven 

7  trumpets  prepared  to  blow  their  blasts.  The  first  blew,  and 
there  came  hail  and  fire  mixed  with  blood,  falling  on  the 
earth;  a  third  of  the  earth  was  burnt  up,  a  third  of  the 
trees  were  burnt  up,  and  all  the  green  grass  was  burnt  up. 

8  The  second  angel  blew,  and  ivhat  looked  like  a  huge  moun- 
tain on  fire  was  hurled  into  the  sea;    a  third  of  the  sea 

9  turned  blood,  a  third  of  the  creatures  in  the  sea — the  liv- 
ing creatures — perished,  and  a  third  of  the  ships  were  de- 

10  stroyed.  The  third  angel  blew,  and  a  huge  star  blazing 
like  a  torch  dropped  out  of  the  sky,  dropped  on  a  third 

11  of  the  rivers  and  on  the  fountains  (the  name  of  the  star  "is 
Wormwood);  a  third  of  the  waters  became  wormwood, 
and   many  people   died   of   the  waters,   because   they   had 

12  turned  bitter.  The  fourth  angel  blew;  and  a  stroke  fell  on 
a  third  of  the  sun,  a  third  of  the  moon,  and  a  third  of  the 
stars,  so  as  to  darken  one  third  of  them,  withdrawing 
light  from  a  third  of  the  day  and  likewise  of  the  night. 

13  Then  I  looked,  and  I  heard  an  eagle  flying  in  mid-heaven 
with  a  loud  cry,  "Woe,  woe,  woe  to  the  dwellers  on  earth, 
for  the  rest  of  the  trumpet-blasts  that  the  three  angels 
are  about  to  blow!" 

9  The  fifth   angel   blew,   and   I   saw   a   Star   which   had 
dropped  from  heaven  to  earth;  he  was  given  the  key  of 

2  the  pit  of  the  abyss,  and  he  opened  the  pit  of  the  abyss, 
and  smoke  poured  out  of  the  pit,  like  the  smoke  of  a  huge 
furnace,   till   the  sun  and  the   air  were   darkened  by  the 

3  smoke  from  the  pit.  And  out  of  the  smoke  came  locusts 
on   the   earth;   they   were  granted   power   like   the   power 

4  wielded  by  scorpions  on  earth,  but  they  were  told  not  to 
harm  the  grass  on  earth  nor  any  green  thing  nor  any  tree^ 
only  such  human  beings  as  had  not  the  seal  of  God  upon 

5  their  foreheads;  these  they  were  allowed,  not  to  kill  but 
to  torture,  for  five  months — and  their  torture  was  like  the 
torture  of  a  scorpion  when  it  stings  a  man. 

6  In  those  days  men  will  seek  death, 

but  they  will  not  find  it: 
they  will  long  to  die, 
but  death  files  from  them. 

7  The  appearance  of  the  locusts  resembled  horses  armed  for 
battle;  on  their  heads  were  sort  of  crowns  like  gold;  their 

8  faces  were  like  human  faces,  their  hair  like  women's  hair, 

9  and  their  teeth  like  lions'  fangs;  they  had  scales  like  iron 


380  REVELATION  X 

coats  of  mail;    the  whirring  of  their  wings  was   like  the 

10  noise  of  many  chariots  rushing  to  battle;  their  tails  and 
their  stings  were  like  scorpions',  and  their  power  of  hurt- 

11  ing  men  for  five  months  lay  in  their  tails;  thej'  had  a  king 
over  them,  the  angel  of  the  abyss — his  Hebrew  name  is 
Abaddon,  but  in  Greek  he  is  called  Apollyon. 

12  The  first  woe  has  passed: 
two  woes  are  still  to  come. 

13  Then  the  sixth  angel  blew;  and  I  heard  a  voice  from  the 

14  four  horns  of  the  golden  altar  before  God,  telling  the  sixth 
angel  with  the  trumpet,  "Let  loose  the  four  angels  who  are 

15  bound  at  the  great  river  Euphrates."  So  the  four  angels 
were  unloosed,  who  had  been  kept  ready  for  that  hour  and 

16  day  and  month  and  year,  to  kill  the  third  of  men.  And 
the  number  of  the  troops  of  their  cavalry  was  two  hundred 

17  millions  (I  heard  what  was  their  number).  And  this  is 
how  the  horses  and  their  riders  looked  in  my  vision:  they 
wore  coats  of  mail  red  as  fire,  dark-blue  as  jacinth  and 
yellow  as  smoke;  the  horses'  heads  were  like  lions'  heads, 
and  from  their  mouths  poured  fire  and  smoke  and  brim- 

18  stone.  By  these  three  plagues  the  third  of  men  were  killed, 
by  the  fire,  the  smoke,  and  the  brimstone,  that  poured  out 

19  of  their  mouths;  for  the  power  of  the  horses  lies  in  their 
mouths — and  also  in  their  tails  (their  tails  are  like  ser- 
pents,  they  have   heads,   and   it  is  with  their  heads   that 

20  they  hurt).  But  the  rest  of  mankind,  who  were  not  killed 
by  these  plagues,  did  not  repent  of  the  works  of  their  hands 
and  give  up  worshipping  daemons  and  idols  of  gold  and 
silver  and  brass  and  stone  and  wood,  ivhich  caimot  either 

21  see  or  hear  or  stir;  nor  did  they  repent  of  their  murders 
or  of  their  magic  spells  or  of  their  sexual  vice  or  of  their 
thefts. 

1  r\  Thex  I  saw  another  *  strong  angel  descend  from 
-IV/  heaven;  he  was  clad  in  a  cloud,  with  a  rainbow  over 
his  head,  his  face  like  the  sun,  his  feet  like  columns  of  fire, 

2  and  a  small  scroll  open  in  his  hand.     He  set  his  right  foot 

3  on  the  sea,  his  left  upon  the  earth,  and  shouted  aloud  like 
a  lion  roaring;   and  at  his  shout  the  seven  thunders  gave 

4  voice.  After  the  seven  thunders  had  spoken,  I  was  going 
to  write  it  down;  but  I  heard  a  voice  from  heaven  saying, 
''Seal  up  what  the  seven  thunders  have  said,  do  not  write 

5  it."     Then  the  angel  I  saw  standing  on  the  sea  and   the 

6  earth  raised  his  right  hand  to  heaven  and  swore  by  Him 
who  lives  for  ever  and  ever,  who  created  the  heaven  and 

*  Referring  to  v.  2,  in  all  probability;  but  it  may  simply  mean,  "  an- 
other angel,  a  strong  one." 


REVELATION  XI  381 

what  is  in  it,  the  earth  and  what  is  in  it,  and  the  sea  and 

7  what  is  in  it,  "There  shall  be  no  more  delay;  in  the  days 
of  the  seventh  angel's  voice,  when  he  now  blows  his  blast, 
then   shall   the  secret  purpose   of   God  be   fulfilled,   as   he 

8  assured  his  servants  the  prophets^  Then  the  voice  I  had 
heard  from  heaven  again  talked  to  me,  saying,  "Go  and 
take  the  small  scroll  which  lies  open  in  the  hand  of  the 

9  angel  who  is  standing  on  the  sea  and  the  earth."  So  I 
went  to  the  angel,  saying,  "Give  me  the  small  scroll" 
"Take  it,"  said  he,  ''and  swallow  it;  it  will  taste  sweet  as 

10  honey,  but  it  will  be  bitter  to  digest.'"  Then  I  took  the 
small  scroll  from  the  hand  of  the  angel  and  swallowed  it; 
it  did  taste  sweet,  like  honey,  but  when  I  had  eaten  it,  it 

11  was  bitter  to  digest.  Then  I  was  told,  "You  must  prophesy 
again   of  many  peoples   and  nations   and   languages   and 

11    kings."    And  I  was  given  a  reed  like  a  rod,  and  told, 
1  "Rise  up  and  measure  the  temple  of  God  and  the  altar, 

2  numbering  the  worshippers;  but  omit  the  court  outside  the 
temple,  do  not  measure  that,  for  it  has  been  given  over 
to  the  Gentiles;  and  the  city  will  be  under  their  heel  for 

3  two  and  forty  months.  But  I  will  allow  my  two  witnesses 
to  prophesy  for  twelve  hundred  and  sixty  days,   clad   in 

4  sackcloth  (they  are  the  two  olive-trees  and  the  two  lamp- 
stands  which  stand  before  the  Lord  of  the  earth) : 

5  whoever  tries  to  harm  them, 

fire  will  issue  from   their  mouth  and  consume   their 
enemies; 
whoever  should  try  to  harm  them, 
so  must  he  be  killed." 

6  They  have  power  to  shut  up  the  sky,  so  that  no  rain  falls 
during  the  days  when  they  are  prophesying;  and  they  have 
power  over  the  loaters,  to  turn  them  into  blood,  and  also 
to  smite  the  earth  toith  all  manner  of  plagues  as  often  as 

7  they  choose.  But,  when  they  have  finished  their  testimony, 
the  Beast  that  ascends  from  the  abyss  will  make  loar  on 

8  them  and  conquer  them  and  kill  them,  and  their  corpses 
will  lie  in  the  streets  of  that  great  City  whose  mystical 
name   is   Sodom   and   Egypt — where   their   Lord   also   was 

9  crucified.  For  three  days  and  a  half  men  from  all  peoples 
and  tribes  and  tongues  and  nations  look  at  their  corpses, 

10  refusing  to  let  their  corpses  be  buried;  and  the  dwellers 
on  earth  will  gloat  over  them  and  rejoice,  sending  presents 
to  congratulate  one  another — for  these  two  prophets  were 

11  a  torment  to  the  dwellers  on  earth.  But  after  three  days 
and  a  half  the  breath  of  life  from  God  entered  thera;  they 
stood  on  their  feet    {terror  fell  on  those  who  saw  them) 

12  and  heard  a  loud  voice  from  heaven  telling  them,  "Come 
up  here."    So  up  to  heaven  they  went  in  a  cloud,  before  the 


382  REVELATION  XII 

13  eyes  of  their  enemies.  At  that  hour  a  great  earthquake 
took  place,  a  tenth  of  the  City  was  destroyed,  and  seven 
thousand  souls  perished  in  the  earthquake:  the  rest  were 
awestruck,  and  gave  glory  to  the  God  of  heaven. 

14  The  second  woe  has  passed: 
the  third  woe  soon  is  coming. 

15  Then  the  seventh  angel  blew;  and  loud  voices  followed 
in  heaven,  crying,  ''The  rule  of  the  world  has  passed  to  our 
Lord  and  his  Christ,  and  he  shall  reign  for  ever  and  ever." 

16  Then  the  four  and  twenty  Presbyters  who  are  seated  on 
their  thrones  before  God,  fell  on  their  faces  and  worshipped 
God,  saying, 

17  "We  thank  thee,  Lord  God  almighty,  who  art  and  wast, 

that  thou  hast  assumed  thy  great  power  and   begun  to 
reign; 

18  the  nations  were  enraged, 
but  thine  anger  has  come; 

the  time  has  come  for  the  dead  to  be  judged, 

the  time  for  rewarding  thy  servants  the  prophets, 

and  the  saints  tvho  reverence  thy  name,  both  low  and  high, 

the  time  for  destroying  the  destroyers  of  the  earth." 

19  Then  the  temple  of  God  in  heaven  was  thrown  open,  and 
the  ark  of  his  covenant  was  seen  inside  his  temple;  there 
were  flashes  of  lightning,  loud  blasts,  peals  of  thunder,  an 
"1  O  earthquake,  and  a  hailstorm.  And  a  great  portent 
1  ^  was  seen  in  heaven,  a  woman  clad  in  the  sun — with 
the  moon  \inder  her  feet,  and  a  tiara  of  twelve  stars  on  her 

2  head;  she  was  with  child,  crying  in  the  pangs  of  travail,  in 

3  anguish  for  her  delivery.  Then  another  portent  was  seen 
in  heaven!  There  was  a  huge  red  dragon,  with  seven 
heads  and  seven  horns  and  seven  diadems  upon  his  heads; 

4  his  tail  swept  away  a  third  of  the  stars  of  heaven  and  flung 
them  to  the  earth.  And  the  dragon  stood  in  front  of  the 
woman  who  was  on  the  point  of  being  delivered,  to  devour 

5  her  child  as  soon  as  it  was  born.  She  gave  birth  to  a  son, 
a  male  child,  who  is  to  shepherd  all  the  nations  ivith  an 
iron   flail;   her   child   was   caught   up   to    God   and   to   his 

6  throne,  and  she  herself  fled  to  the  desert,  where  a  place 
has  been  prepared  for  her  by  God,  in  which  she  is  to  be 

7  nourished  for  twelve  hundred  and  sixty  days.  And  war 
broke  out  in  heaven,  Michael  and  his  angels  fighting  with 

8  the  dragon;  the  dragon  and  his  angels  also  fought,  but 
he  failed,  and  there  was  no  place  for  them  in  heaven  any 

9  longer.  So  the  huge  dragon  was  thrown  down — that  old 
serpent  called  the  Devil  and  Satan,  the  seducer  of  the  whole 
world — thrown  down  to  the  earth,  and  his  angels  thrown 

10  down  along  with  him.  Then  I  heard  a  loud  voice  in  heaven 
saying,   "Now  it  has  come,  the   salvation  and  power,   the 


REVELATION  XIII  383 

reign  of  our  God  and  the  authority  of  his  Christ! — for  the 
Accuser  of  our  brothers  is  thrown  down,  who  accused  them 

11  before  God  day  and  night.  But  they  have  conquered  him 
by  the  blood  of  the  Lamb  and  by  the  word  of  their  testi- 
mony; they  had  to  die  for  it,  but  they  did  not  cling  to  life. 

12  Rejoice  for  this,  0  heavens  and  ye  that  dwell  in  them! 
But  woe  to  earth  and  sea!     The  devil  has  descended  to  you 

13  in  fierce  anger,  knowing  that  his  time  is  short."  And  when 
the  dragon  found  himself  thrown  down  to  earth,  he  pur- 
sued the  woman  who  had  given  birth  to  the  male  child; 

14  but  the  woman  was  given  the  two  wings  of  a  great  eagle 
for  her  flight  to  the  desert,  to  her  appointed  place,  where 
she  is  nourished  for  a  Time,  two  Times,  and  half  a  Time, 

15  safe  from  the  serpent.  Then  from  his  mouth  the  serpent 
poured  water  after  the  woman  like  a  river,  to  sweep  her 

16  away  with  a  flood;  but  the  earth  came  to  the  rescue  of  the 
woman,  the  earth  opened  its  mouth  and  swallowed  up  the 

17  river  that  the  dragon  had  poured  out  of  his  mouth.  So, 
enraged  at  the  woman,  the  dragon  went  off  to  wage  war  on 
the  rest  of  her  offspring,  on  those  who  keep  God's  com- 
mandments and  hold  the  testimony  of  Jesus. 

18  1  O  Then  I  stood  on  the  sand  of  the  sea,  and  I  saw  a 
A  ^  Beast  rising  out  of  the  sea  with  ten  horns  and  seven 

heads,  ten  diadems  *  on  his  horns,  and  blasphemous  titles 

2  on  his  heads.  The  Beast  I  saw  resembled  a  leoxjard,  his 
feet  were  liTce  a  bear's,  and  his  mouth  like  a  lion's.  To 
him  the  dragon  gave  his  own  power  and  his  own  throne 

3  and  great  authority.  One  of  his  heads  looked  as  if  it  had 
been  slain  and  killed,  but  the  deadly  wound  was  healed, 
and  the  whole  earth  went  after  him  in  wonder,  worshipping 
the  dragon  for  having  given  authority  to  the  Beast,  and 

4  worshipping  the  Beast  with  the  cry, 
"Who  is  like  the  Beast? 

Who  can  fight  with  him?" 

5  He  was  allowed  to  utter  loud  and  blasphemous  vaunts,  and 

6  allowed  to  exert  authority  for  two  and  forty  months;  so 
he  opened  his  mouth  for  blasphemies  against  God,  to  blas- 
pheme his  name  and  his  dwelling  (that  is,  the  dwellers  in 

7  heaven).  He  was  allowed  to  wage  war  on  the  saints  and 
to   conquer   them,    and   given   authority   over   every   tribe 

8  and  people  and  tongue  and  nation;  and  all  the  dwellers  on 
earth  will  be  his  worshippers,  everyone  whose  name  has 
not  been  written  from  the  foundation  of  the  world  in  the 

9  book  of  Life.lf    Let  anyone  who  has  an  ear  listen:  — 

*  Here,  as  in  xii.  3,  an  assumption  of  the  royal  power  which  really  be- 
longed to  God  (see  xix.  12). 

tThe  words  "of  the* Lamb  slain"   (rod  apviov  rod  i(T<paynivov)  are 


384  REVELATION  XIV 

10  Whoever  is  destined  for  captivity, 

to  captivity  he  goes: 
whoever  kills  with  the  sword, 
hy  the  sword  must  he  be  killed. 
This   is   what   shows   the   patience   and   the   faith   of   the 
saints. 

11  Then  I  saw  another  Beast  rising  from  the  land;  he  had 

12  two  horns  like  a  lamb,  but  he  spoke  like  a  dragon.  He 
exerts  the  full  authority  of  the  first  Beast  in  his  presence, 
causing  the  earth  and  its  inhabitants  to  worship  the  first 

13  Beast,  whose  deadly  wound  was  healed.  He  performs  amaz- 
ing  miracles,   even  making   fire   descend   from  heaven   on 

14  earth  in  the  sight  of  men,  and  by  dint  of  the  miracles 
he  is  allowed  to  perform  in  presence  of  the  Beast,  he 
seduces  the  dwellers  on  earth;  he  bids  the  dwellers  on 
earth  erect  a  statue  to  the   Beast  who   lived  after  being 

15  wounded  by  the  sword,  and  to  this  statue  of  the  Beast 
he  was  allowed  to  impart  the  breath  of  life,  so  that  the 
statue  of  the  Beast  should  actually  speak.  He  has  everyone 
put  to  death  who  will  not  worship  the  statue  of  the  Beast, 

16  and  he  obliges  all  men,  low  and  high,  rich  and  poor,  free- 
men and  slaves  alike,  to  have  a  mark  put  upon,  their  right 

17  hand  or  their  forehead,  so  that  no  one  can  buy  or  sell 
unless  he  bears  the  mark,  that  is  the  name  of  the  Beast 

18  or  the  cipher  of  his  name.  Now  for  the  gift  of  interpreta- 
tion! Let  the  discerning  calculate  the  cipher  of  the  Beast; 
it  is  the  cipher  of  a  man,  and  the  figures  are  six  hundred 
and  sixty-six. 

UThen  I  looked,  and  there  was  the  Lamb  standing  on 
mount  Sion,  and  along  with  him  a  hundred  and  forty- 
four  thousand  bearing  his  name  and  the  name  of  his  Father 

2  written  on  their  foreheads!  And  I  heard  a  voice  from 
heaven  like  the  sound  of  many  waves  and  the  sound  of  loud 
thunder;    the  voice  I  heard  was  like  harpists  playing  on 

3  their  harps ;  they  were  singing  *  a  new  song  before  the 
throne  and  before  the  four  living  Creatures  and  the  Presby- 
ters, and  no  one  could  learn  that  song  except  the  hundred 
and    forty-four    thousand    who    had    been    ransomed   from 

4  earth.  They  have  not  been  defiled  by  intercourse  with 
women — they  are  celibates;  they  follow  the  Lamb  wherever 
he  goes;    they  have  been  ransomed  from  among  men,  as 

5  the  first  to  be  reaped  for  God  and  the  Lamb.  And  on  their 
lips  no  lie  was  ever  detected  t  ;  they  are  stainless. 

probably  a  gloss  from  xxi.  27.  The  book  of  Life  elsewhere  appears 
without  any  such  addition. 

*  Omitting  [ws]. 

t  The  thought  and  phraseology  of  the  whol*  passage  should  be  com- 
pared and  contrasted  with  1  Pet.  ii.  21-22. 


REVELATION  XV  385 

6  Then  I  saw  another  angel  flying  in  mid-heaven  with  an 
eternal  gospel  for  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth,  for  every 

7  nation  and  tribe  and  tongue  and  people;  he  cried  aloud, 
"Fear  God  and  give  him  glory,  for  the  hour  of  his  judgment 
has  come;  worship  him  who  made  heaven  and  earth,  the 

8  sea  and  the  fountains  of  water."  And  another,  a  second 
angel  followed,  crying,  "Fallen,  fallen  is  Babylon  the  great, 
who  made  all  nations  drink  the  wine  of  the  passion  of  her 

9  vice!"  They  were  followed  by  another,  a  third  angel,  cry- 
ing aloud,  "Whoever  worships  the  Beast  and  his  statue,  and 

10  lets  his  forehead  or  hand  be  marked,  he  shall  drink  the 
wine  of  God's  passion,  poured  out  untempered  in  the  cup 
of  his  anger,  and  shall  be  tortured  with  fire  and  brimstone 

11  before  the  holy  angels  and  before  the  Lamb:  the  smoke  of 
their  torture  rises  for  ever  and  ever,  and  they  get  no  rest 
from  it,  day  and  night,  these  worshippers  of  the  Beast  and 

12  his  statue,  and  all  who  are  marked  with  his  name."  This 
is  what  shows  the  patience  of  the  saints — they  who  keep 
God's  commands  and  the  faith  of  Jesus. 

13  Then  I  heard  a  voice  from  heaven  saying,  "Write  this:  — 
'Blessed  are  the  dead  who  die  in  the  Lord  from  henceforth! 
Even  so,  it  is  the  voice  of  the  Spirit — blessed  in  resting 
from  their  toils;  for  what  they  have  done  goes  with  them.*  " 

14  Then  I  looked,  and  there  was  a  white  cloud,  and  seated 
on  the   cloud   One  resembling  a  human  being,   a  golden 

15  crown  upon  his  head  and  a  sharp  sickle  in  his  hand.  And 
another  angel  came  out  of  the  temple  shouting  aloud  to 
him  who  sat  upon  the  cloud, 

"Thrust  your  sickle  in  and  reap, 
the  time  has  come  to  reap, 
the  harvest  of  earth  is  ripe  and  ready." 

16  So  he  who  sat  upon  the  cloud  swung  his  sickle  over  the 

17  earth,  and  the  earth  was  reaped.    Then  another  angel  came 

18  out  of  the  temple,  he  too  with  a  sharp  sickle;  and  another 
angel  came  from  the  altar — he  who  has  power  over  fire — 
and  called  loudly  to  the  one  who  had  the  sharp  sickle, 
"Thrust  your  sharp  sickle  in, 

cull  the  clusters  from  the  Vine  of  earth, 
for  its 'grapes  are  fully  ripe." 

19  So  the  angel  swung  his  sickle  on  the  earth  and  culled  the 
clusters  from  the  Vine  of  earth,  flinging  the  grapes  into  the 

20  great  winepress  of  God's  wrath;  outside  the  City  was  the 
winepress  trodden,  and  blood  gushed  out  of  the  winepress 
as  high  as  a  horse's  bridle  for  the  space  of  two  hundred 
miles. 


15 


Then  I  saw  another  portent  in  heaven,  great  and  mar- 
vellous:   seven   angels   with  seven  plagues — the   last 


386  REVELATION  XVI 

2  plagues,  for  they  complete  the  wrath  of  God.  And  I  saw 
what  was  like  a  sea  of  glass  mixed  with  fire,  and,  standing 
beside  the  sea  of  glass,  those  who  came  off  conquerors 
from  the  Beast  and  his  statue  and  the  cipher  of  his  name; 

3  they  had  harps  of  God  and  they  were  singing  the  song  of 
Moses  the  servant  of  Ood  and  the  song  of  the  Lamb— 
"Great  and  marvellous  are  thy  deeds, 

Lord  God  almighty! 

Just  and  true  thy  ways, 

0  King  of  nations! 

4  Who  shall  not  fear,  0  Lord,  and  glorify  thy  name? 

for  thou  alone  art  holy. 
Yea,  all  nations  shall  come  and  worship  before  thee, 
for  thy  judgments  are  disclosed," 

5  After  that  *  I  looked,  and  the  temple  of  the  tabernacle  of 

6  testimony  in  heaven  was  thrown  open,  and  out  of  the 
temple  came  the  seven  angels  with  the  seven  plagues,  robed 
in  pure  dazzling  linen,  their  breasts  encircled  with  golden 

7  belts.  Then  one  of  the  four  living  Creatures  gave  the  seven 
angels  seven  golden  bowls  full  of  the  wrath  of  God  who 

8  lives  for  ever  and  ever;  and  the  temple  was  filled  with 
smoke  from  the  glory  of  God  and  from  his  might,  nor  could 
anyone  enter  the  temple  till  the  seven  plagues  of  the  seven 
1  f\  angels  were  over.  Then  I  heard  a  loud  voice  from 
1  yJ  the  temple  telling  the  seven  angels,  "Go  and  pour  out 

2  the  seven  bowls  of  the  wrath  of  God  on  earth:'  So  the  first 
went  off  and  poured  his  bowl  upon  the  land;  and  noisome, 
painful  ulcers  broke  out  on  those  who  bore  the  mark  of  the 

3  Beast  and  worshipped  his  statue.  The  second  poured  out 
his  bowl  upon  the  sea;  it  turned  blood  like  the  blood  of  a 
corpse,   and   every  living  thing  within  the  sea  perished. 

4  The    third    poured    out    his    bowl    upon    the    rivers    and 

5  fountains  of  water,  and  they  turned  blood.  Then  I  heard 
the  angel  of  the  waters  cry,  "0  holy  One,  who  art  and  wast, 

6  just  art  thou  in  this  thy  sentence.  They  poured  out  the 
blood  of  saints  and  prophets,  and  thou  hast  given  them 

7  blood  to  drink!  They  deserve  it!"  And  I  heard  the  altar 
cry, 

"Even  so.  Lord  God  almighty: 

true  and  just  are  thy  sentences  of  doom." 

8  The  fourth  angel  poured  out  his  bowl  upon  the  sun;  and 

9  the  sun  was  allowed  to  scorch  men  with  fire,  till  men, 
scorched  by  the  fierce  heat,  blasphemed  the  name  of  the 
God  who  had  control  of  these  plagues;  yet  they  would  not 

10  repent  and  give  him  glory.    The  fifth  poured  out  his  bowl 

*  That  is,  after  the  interlude  of  2-4.     The  words  always  denote  a 
fresh  phrase  or  stage  of  the  vision. 


REVELATION  XVII  387 

upon  the  throne  of  the  Beast;  his  realm  was  darkened,  and 

11  men  gnawed  their  tongues  in  anguish,  blaspheming  the 
God  of  heaven  for  their  pains  and  their  ulcers,  but  refus- 

12  ing  to  repent  of  their  doings.  The  sixth  poured  out  his 
bowl  on  the  great  river  Euphrates,  and  its  waters  were 
dried  up  to  prepare  the  way  for  the  kings  from  the  east. 

13  Then  I  saw  issuing  from  the  mouth  of  the  dragon  and  from 
the  mouth  of  the  Beast  and  from  the  mouth  of  the  false 

14  Prophet,  three  foul  spirits  like  frogs — demon-spirits  per- 
forming miracles,  who  come  out  to  muster  the  kings  of  the 
whole  world  for  battle  on  the  great  Day  of  almighty  God. 

15  (Lo,  I  am  coming  like  a  thief;  blessed  be  he  who  keeps 
awake  and  holds  his  raiment  fast,  not  to  go  naked  and  have 

16  the  shame  of  exposure! )  *    And  they  were  mustered  at  the 

17  spot  called  (in  Hebrew)  Harmagedon.  The  seventh  angel 
poured  out  his  bowl  in  the  air;  then  came  a  loud  voice  out 
of  the  temple  of  heaven  from  the  throne,  crying,  "All  is 

18  over!"  followed  by  flashes  of  lightning,  loud  blasts,  peals 
of  thunder,  and  a  mighty  earthquake,  the  like  of  which 
never  was  since  man  lived  on  earth,  such  a  mighty  earth- 

19  quake  it  was;  the  great  City  was  shattered  in  three  parts, 
the  cities  of  the  nations  fell,  and  God  remembered  to  give 
Babylon  the  great  the  cup  of  the  wine  of  the  passion  of 

20  his   anger.      Every   island  fled   away,   the   mountains    dis- 

21  appeared,  and  huge  hailstones  fell  from  heaven  on  men,  till 
men  blasphemed  God  for  the  plague  of  the  hail — for  the 
plague  of  it  was  fearful. 

In  Then  came  one  of  the  seven  angels  with  the  seven 
/    plagues  and  spoke  to  me,  saying,  "Come  and  I  will 
show  you  the  doom  of  the  great  Harlot  who  is  seated  on 

2  many  waters,  with  whom  the  kings  of  earth  have  com- 
mitted  vice,  and  the  dwellers  on  earth  have  been  drunk 

3  with  the  wine  of  her  vice."  So  he  bore  me  away  rapt  in 
the  Spirit  to  the  desert,  and  I  saw  a  woman  sitting  on 
a  scarlet  Beast  covered  with  blasphemous  titles;    it  had 

4  seven  heads  and  ten  horns.  The  woman  was  clad  in  purple 
and  scarlet,  her  ornaments  were  of  gold  and  precious  stones 
and  pearls,  in  her  hand  was  a  golden  cup  full  of  all  abomi- 

5  nations  and  the  impurities  of  her  vice,  and  on  her  fore- 
head a  name  was  written  by  way  of  symbol,  "Babylon  the 
great,  the  mother  of  harlots  and  of  all  abominations  on 

6  earth."  Then  I  saw  the  woman  was  drunk  with  the  blood 
of  the  saints  and  the  blood  of  the  witnesses  of  Jesus;  and 

7  as  I  looked  at  her  I  marvelled  greatly.    But  the  angel  said 

*  Ver.  15  interrupts  the  sequence  of  thought;  it  is  either  a  gloss  or  mis- 
placed, perhaps  from  the  third  chapter. 


388  REVELATION  XVIII 

to  me,  "Why  marvel?    I  will  explain  to  you  the  mystery  of 
the  woman,  and  of  the  Beast  with  the  seven  heads  and  the 

8  ten  horns  who  carries  her.  The  Beast  you  have  seen  was,  is 
not,  but  is  to  rise  from  the  abyss — yet  to  perdition  he  shall 
go — and  the  dwellers  on  earth  will  wonder  (all  whose 
names  have  not  been  written  from  the  foundation  of  the 
world  in  the  took  of  Life),  when  they  see  that  the  Beast 

9  was,  is  not,  but  is  coming.  Now  for  the  interpretation  of 
the  discerning  mind!     The  seven  heads  are  seven  hills,  on 

10  which  the  woman  is  seated:  also,  they  are  seven  kings,  of 
whom  five  have  fallen,  one  is  living,  and  the  other  has  not 
arrived  yet — and  when  he  does  arrive,  he  can  only  stay  a 

11  little  while.  As  for  the  Beast  which  was  and  is  not,  he  is  an 
eighth  head;  he  belongs  to  the  seven,  and  to  perdition  he 

12  shall  go.  As  for  the  ten  horns  you  have  seen,  they  are  ten 
kings  who  have  no  royal  power  as  yet,  but  receive  royal 

13  authority  for  an  hour  along  with  the  Beast;  they  are  of 
one  mind,  and  they  confer  their  power  and  authority  upon 

14  the  Beast.  They  will  wage  war  on  the  Lamb,  but  the  Lamb 
will  conquer  them  because  he  is  Lord  of  lords  and  King  of 
kings — the  Lamb  and  the  elect,  the  chosen,  the  faithful 

15  who  are  with  him."  He  also  told  me,  "The  ivaters  you 
saw,  on  which  the  woman  is  seated,  are  peoples  and  hosts, 

16  nations  and  tongues.  As  for  the  ten  horns  you  have  seen, 
they  and  the  Beast  will  hate  the  harlot,  lay  her  waste,  and 
strip  her  naked;  they  will  devour  her  flesh  and  burn  her 

17  with  fire,  for  God  has  put  it  into  their  hearts  to  execute 
his  purpose,  by  having  one  mind  and  by  conferring  their 
royal  power  upon  the  Beast,  until  the  words  of  God  are 

18  fulfilled.  As  for  the  woman  you  have  seen,  she  is  the  great 
City  which  reigns  over  the  kings  of  the  earth.''  * 

1  Q  After  that  I  saw  another  angel  descend  from  heaven, 

2  1^  great  in  might;  his  radiance  lit  up  the  earth,  and  he 
shouted  aloud  with  a  strong  voice, 

"Fallen,  fallen  is  Babylon  the  great, 
now  she  is  a  haunt  of  demons, 
the  den  of  all  foul  spirits, 
a  cage  for  every  foul  and  loathsome  bird: 

3  for  all  nations  have  drunk  the  wine  of  the  passion  of  her 

vice, 
the  kings  of  the  earth  have  committed  vice  with  her, 
and  by  the  wealth  of  her  wantonness  earth's  traders  have 

grown  rich," 

4  And  I  heard  another  voice  from  heaven  crying, 
"Come  out  of  her,  0  my  people, 

*  Possibly  xix.  9-10  ("  The  angel  also  .  .  .")  originally  came  at  this 
place  in  the  narrative. 


REVELATION  XVIII  389 

that  you  share  not  her  sins, 

that  you  partake  not  of  her  plagues: 

5  for  high  as  heaven  her  sins  are  heaped, 

and  God  calls  her  misdeeds  to  the  reckoning. 

6  Render  to  her  what  she  rendered  to  others, 
aye,  double  the  doom  for  all  she  has  done; 

mix  her  the  draught  double  in  the  cup  she  mixed  for 
others. 

7  As  she  gloried  and  played  the  wanton, 

so  give  her  like  measure  of  torture  and  tears. 
Since  in  her  heart  she  vaunts,  'A  queen  I  sit, 
no  widotv  I,  tears  I  shall  never  know,'' 

8  so  shall  her  plagues  fall  in  a  single  day, 
pestilence,  tears,  and  famine: 

she  shall  be  burnt  with  fire — 

for  strong  is  God  the  Lord  her  judge. 

9  And   the   kings  of  the   earth  who   committed  vice  and 
wantoned  tvith  her  shall  weep  and  wail  over  her,  as  they 

10  watch  the  smoke  of  her  burning;  for  fear  of  her  torture 
they  will  stand  far  off,  crying, 

"  'Woe  and  alas,  thou  great  city! 
thou  strong  city  of  Bahylon! 
In  one  brief  hour  thy  doom  has  come.' 

11  And  the  traders  of  earth  shall  weep  and  wail  over  her; 

12  for  now  there  is  none  to  buy  their  freights,  freights  of  gold, 
silver,  jewels,  pearls,  fine  linen,  purples,  silk,  scarlet  stuff, 
all   sorts  of  citron  wood  and  ivory  wares,  all  articles  of 

13  costly  wood,  of  bronze,  of  iron  and  of  marble,  with  cinna- 
mon, balsam,  spices,  myrrh,  frankincense,  wines,  olive-oil, 
fine  flour  and  wheat,  with  cattle,  sheep,  horses,  carriages, 

15  slaves,  and  the  souls  of  men*  The  traders  in  these  wares, 
who  made  rich  profits  from  her,  will  stand  far  off  for  fear 
of  her  torture,  weeping  and  wailing: 

'Woe  and  alas,  for  the  great  city, 

robed  in  linen,  in  purple  and  scarlet, 

her  ornaments  of  gold,  of  jewels  and  pearl! 

And  all  this  splendour  gone  in  one  brief  hour!* 

17  And  all  shipmasters  and  sea-faring  folk,  sailors  and  all 

18  whose  business  lies  uj^on  the  sea,  stood  far  off  as  they 
watched   the    smoke    of   her   burning,    crying,    'What   city 

19  was  like  the  great  City?'  They  threw  dust  on  their  heads 
and  cried,  as  they  wept  and  ivailed, 

'Woe  and  alas  for  the  great  City, 

where  all  shipmen  made  rich  profit  hy  her  treasures! 

Gone,  gone  in  one  brief  hour!' 

*  Ver.  14  has  been  misplaced  from  its  original  position  in  the  middle  of 
ver.  23. 


390  REVELATION  XIX 

20  O  heaven,  rejoice  over  her! 
Saints,  apostles,  prophets,  rejoice! 
For  God  has  avenged  you  on  her  now." 

21  Then  a  strong  angel  lifted  a  'boulder  like  a  huge  millstone 
and  flying  it  into  the  sea,  crying, 

''So  shall  the  great  city,  Babylon,  be  hurled  down,  hurtling, 
and  never  be  seen  any  more: 

22  and  the  sound  of  harpists  and  minstrels  and  fluteplayers 

and  trumpeters 

shall  never  be  heard  in  thee  more: 
and  craftsmen  of  any  craft 

shall  never  be  found  in  thee  more: 
and  the  sound  of  the  millstone 

shall  never  be  heard  in  thee  more: 

23  and  the  light  of  a  lamp 

shall  never  be  seen  in  thee  more: 
and  the  voice  of  tlie  bridegroom  and  bride 

shall  never  be  heard  in  thee  more. 
14       Vanished  the  ripe  fruit  of  thy  soul's  desire! 
Perished  thy  luxury  and  splendour! 

Never  again  to  be  seen. 

23  For  the  magnates  of  earth  were  thy  traders; 
all  nations  were  seduced  by  thy  magic  spells. 

24  And  in  her  was  found  the  blood  of  prophets  and  saints, 
of  all  who  w€re  slain  upon  earth."* 


1  Q  Aftee  that  I  heard  what  was  like  the  shout  of  a  great 
■1  «^  host  in  heaven,  crying, 

''Hallelujah!  salvation  and  glory  and  power  are  our  God's! 
i       True  and  just  are  his  sentences  of  doom; 

he  has  doomed  the  great  Harlot  who  destroyed  earth 

with  her  vice, 
he  has  avenged  on  her  the  blood  of  his  servants." 
J  Again  they  repeated, 
"Hallelujah!    And  the  smoke  of  her  goes  up  for  ever  and 
ever!" 
1       Then  the  four  and  twenty  Presbyters  and  the  four  living 
Creatures  fell  down  and  worshipped  God  who  is  seated  on 
5  the   throne,   crying,   "So  be  It,   hallelujah!"     And  a  voice 
came  from  the  throne, 
"Extol  our  God,  all  ye  his  servants, 
ye  who  reverence  him,  low  and  high!" 
3       Then  I  heard  a  cry  like  the  shout  of  a  great  host  and  the 
sound  of  many  waves  and  the  roar  of  heavy  thunder — 
"Hallelujah!  now  the  Lord  our  God  almighty  reigns! 

*  Ver.  24,  like  ver.  20,  links  x\ai.  6  to  the  outburst  of  xix.  2. 


REVELATION  XIX  391 

7  Let  us  rejoice  and  triumph, 
let  us  give  him  the  glory! 

For  now  comes  the  marriage  of  the  Lamb; 
his  bride  has  arrayed  herself, 

8  Yea,  she  is  allowed  to  put  on  fine  linen,  dazzling  white" 
(the  white  linen  is  the  righteous  conduct  of  the  saints). 

9  Then  I  was  told,  "Write  this: — 'Blessed  are  those  who 
have  been  called  to  the  marriage-banquet  of  the  Lamb!'" 
The  angel  also  told  me,  "These  are  genuine  words  of  God." 

10  Then  I  fell  before  his  feet  to  worship  him;  but  he  said  to 
me,  "No,  not  that!  I  am  but  a  servant  like  yourself  and 
your  brothers,  who  hold  the  testimony  of  Jesus.  Worship 
God"  (for  the  testimony  borne  by  Jesus  is  the  breath  of 
all  prophecy). 

11  Then  I  saw  heaven  open  wide — 
and  there  was  a  white  horse: 
his  rider  is  faithful  and  true, 

yea,  just  are  his  judgments  and  his  warfare. 

12  His  eyes  are  a  flame  of  fire, 
on  his  head  are  many  diadems, 

he  bears  a  written  name  which  none  knows  but  himself. 

13  He  is  clad  in  a  robe  dipped  in  blood 
(his  name  is  called  the  logos  of  god), 

14  and  the  troops  of  heaven  follow  him  on  white  horses, 
arrayed  in  pure  white  linen. 

15  A  sharp  sword  issues  from  his  lips,  wherewith  to  smite 

the  nations; 
he  will  shepherd  *  them  with  an  iron  flail, 
and  trample  the  winepress  of  the  passion  of  the  anger  of 

God  almighty. 

16  And  on  his  robe,  upon  his  thigh,  his  name  is  written, 

KING  OF  KINGS  AND  LORD  OF  LORDS. 

17  Then  I  saw  an  angel  standing  in  the  sun,  who  shouted 
aloud  to  all  the  birds  that  fly  in  mid-heaven,  ''Gome,  gather 

18  for  the  great  banquet  of  God,  to  devour  the  flesh  of  kings, 
the  flesh  of  generals,  the  flesh  of  the  strong,  the  flesh  of 
horses   and   their   riders,   the   flesh   of   all   men,    free   and 

19  slaves,  low  and  high  alike."  And  I  saw  the  Beast  and  the 
kings  of  earth  and  their  troops  mustered  to  wage  war  on 

20  him  who  was  seated  on  the  horse  and  on  his  troops.  But  the 
Beast  was  seized,  together  with  the  false  Prophet  who  had 
performed  in  his  presence  the  miracles  by  means  of  which 
he  seduced  those  who  received  the  mark  of  the  Beast  and 
worshipped  his  statue;  both  of  them  were  flung  alive  into 

*  The  verb  had  really  come  to  mean  no  more  than  "  rule  "  by  this 
time;  but  the  literal  rendering  may  be  retained  for  the  sake  of  the 
antithesis  in  vii.  17. 


392  REVELATION  XX 

21  the  lake  of  fire  that  Mazes  with  brimstone,  while  the  rest 
were   killed  by  the   sword  of  him  who   is  seated  on  the 
horse,  by  the  sword  that  issues  from  his  lips.    And  all  the 
Mrds  were  glutted  ivith  their  -flesh. 
orv  Then  I  saw  an  angel  descend  from  heaven  with  the 

2  ^yj  key  of  the  abyss  and  a  huge  chain  in  his  hand;  he 
gripped  the   dragon,   that   old  serpent    (who   is   the   devil 

3  and  Satan),  and  bound  him  for  a  thousand  years,  flinging 
\  him  into  the  abyss  and  shutting  and  sealing  it  on  the  top 
I        of  him,  to  prevent  him  seducing  the  nations  again  until  the 

thousand  years  were  completed — after  which  he  has  to  be 

4  released  for  a  little  while.  And  I  saw  thrones  with  people 
sitting  on  them,  who  were  allowed  to  judge — saw  the  souls 
of  those  who  had  been  beheaded  for  the  testimony  of  Jesus 
and  God's  word,  those  who  would  not  worship  the  Beast 
or  his  statue,  and  who  would  not  receive  his  mark  on  their 
forehead  or  hand;  they  came  to  life  and  reigned  along  with 

5  the  Christ  for  a  thousand  years.  As  for  the  rest  of  the 
dead,  they  did  not  come  to  life  until  the  thousand  years 

6  were  completed.  This  is  the  first  resurrection.  Blessed  and 
holy  is  he  who  shares  in  the  first  resurrection;  over  such 
the  second  death  has  no  power,  they  shall  be  priests  of  God 
and  the  Christ,  and  reign  along  with  him  during  the  thou- 

7  sand  years.     But  when  the  thousand  years  are  over,  Satan 

8  will  be  released  from  his  prison,  and  he  will  emerge  to 
seduce  the  nations  at  the  four  corners  of  the  earth,  even 
Gog  and  Magog,  mustering  them  for  the  fray.     Their  num- 

9  her  was  like  the  sand  of  the  sea,  and  they  swarmed  over 
the  broad  earth,  encircling  the  leaguer  of  the  saints  and 
the  beloved  City;   but  fire  descended  from  heaven  and  con- 

10  sumed  them,  and  their  seducer,  the  devil,  was  flung  into 
the  lake  of  fire  and  brimstone,  where  the  Beast  and  the 
false  Prophet  also  lie,  to  be  tortured  day  and  night  for  ever 
and  ever. 

11  Then  I  saiv  a  great  white  throne, 
and  One  who  was  seated  thereon; 

from  his  presence  earth  and  sky  fled,  no  more  to  be  found. 

12  And  I  saw  the  dead,  high  and  low,  standing  before  the 

throne, 
and  books  were  opened — 

also  another  book,  the  book  of  Life,  was  opened — 
and  the  dead  were  judged  by  what  was  written  in  these 

books,  by  what  they  had  done. 

13  The  sea  gave  up  its  corpses, 

Death  and  Hades  gave  up  their  dead, 

and  all  were  judged  by  ivhat  each  had  done. 

14  Then  Death  and  Hades  were  flung  into  the  lake  of  flre, 

15  and  whoever  was  not  found  enrolled  in  the  book  of  Life 


REVELATION  XXI  393 

was  flung  into  the  lake  of  fire — 
which  is  the  second  death,  the  lake  of  fire.* 
Q 1   Then  I  saw  the  new  heaven  and  the  new  earth,  for  the 
^  1  first  heaven  and  the  first  earth  had  passed  away ;  and 

2  the  sea  is  no  more.  And  I  saw  the  holy  City,  the  new 
Jerusalem,  descending  from  God  out  of  heaven,  all  ready 

3  like  a  hride  arrayed  for  her  husband.  And  I  heard  a  loud 
voice  out  of  the  throne,  crying, 

"Lo,  God's  dwelling-place  is  with  men, 
with  men  will  he  dwell; 
they  shall  be  his  people, 
and  God  will  himself  &e  with  them: 

4  he  will  ivipe  every  tear  from  their  eyes, 
and  death  shall  be  no  more — 

no  more  wailing  or  crying  or  pain, 

for  the  first  things  have  passed  away." 

5  Then  he  loho  was  seated  on  the  throne  said,  ^'Lo,  I  make 
all  things  new:'     And  he  said,  "Write  this:    'these  words 

6  are  trustworthy  and  genuine.' "  Then  he  said,  "All  is 
over!  I  am  the  alpha  and  the  omega,  the  First  and  the 
Last.     I  will  let  the  thirsty  drink  of  the  fountain  of  the 

7  ivater  of  Life  without  price.     The  conqueror  shall  obtain 

8  this,  and  I  tvill  be  his  God,  and  he  shall  be  my  son;  but 
as  for  the  craven,  the  faithless,  the  abominable,  as  for  the 
murderers,  the  immoral,  the  sorcerers,  the  idolaters,  and 
liars  of  all  kinds — their  lot  is  the  lake  that  blazes  with  fire 
and  brimstone,  which  is  the  second  death." 

9  Then  came  one  of  the  seven  angels  who  had  the  seven 
bowls  filled  with  the  seven  last  plagues;  and  he  spoke  to 
me  thus,  "Come,  and  I  will  show  you  the  Bride,  the  wife 

10  of  the  Lamb."  8o  he  carried  me  off,  rapt  in  the  Spirit, 
to  a  huge,  high  mountain,  where  he  showed  me  the  City, 
the  holy  Jerusalem,   descending  from  God  out  of  heaven, 

11  with  the  glory  of  God.    The  sheen  of  it  resembled  some  rare 

12  jewel  like  jasper,  clear  as  crystal;  it  has  a  huge,  high  wall 
with  twelve  gates,  twelve  angels  at  the  twelve  gates,  and 
names  inscribed  thereon  which  are  the  names  of  the  twelve 

13  tribes  of  the  sons  of  Israel,  three  gates  on  the  east,  three 
gates  on  the  north,  three  gates  on  the  south,  and  three  gates 

14  on  the  west.  And  the  wall  of  the  City  has  twelve  founda- 
tion-stones, bearing  the  twelve  names  of  the  twelve  apostles 

15  of  the  Lamb.  He  who  talked  to  me  had  a  golden  wand 
by  way  of  a  measuring-rod,  to  measure  the  City  and  its 

16  gates  and  wall;  the  City  lies  foursquare,  the  length  the 
same   as   the   breadth,   and   he   measured    fifteen   hundred 

*  Unless  this  line  is  to  be  omitted  altogether,  it  must  be  placed  thus 
after  ver.  15,  not  after  14  (as  in  the  ordinary  text),  since  there  is  no 
question  of  a  second  death  except  for  human  beings. 


394  REVELATION  XXII 

miles  with  his  rod  for  the  City,  for  its  breadth  and  length 

17  and  height  alike;  he  made  the  measure  of  the  wall  seventy- 

18  two  yards,  by  human,  that  is,  by  angelic  reckoning.  The 
material  of  the  wall  is  jasper,  but  the  City  is  made  of  pure 

19  gold,  transparent  like  glass.  The  foundation-stones  of  the 
city-wall  are  adorned  with  all  sorts  of  precious  stones,  the 
first  foundation-stone  being  of  jasper,  the  second  of  sap- 

20  phire,  the  third  of  agate,  the  fourth  of  emerald,  the  fifth  of 
onyx,  the  sixth  of  sardius,  the  seventh  of  chrysolite,  the 
eighth  of  beryl,  the  ninth  of  topaz,  the  tenth  of  chryso- 
prase,   the   eleventh   of   jacinth,   the   twelfth   of   amethyst. 

21  The  twelve  gates  are  twelve  pearls,  each  gate  made  of  a 
single  pearl;    and  the  streets  of  the   City  are  pure  gold, 

22  clear  as  crystal.     But  I  saw  no  temple  in  the  City,  for  its 

23  temple  is  the  Lord  God  almighty  and  the  Lamb.  And  the 
City  needs  no  sun  or  moon  to  shine  upon  it,  for  the  glory 
of  God  illumines  it,  and  the  Lamb  lights  it  up. 

24  By  its  light  will  the  nations  walk; 

and  into  it  will  the  kings  of  earth  bring  their  glories 

25  (the  gates  of  it  will  never  be  shut -by  day, 
and  night  there  shall  be  none), 

26  they  will  bring  to  it  the  glories  and  treasures  of  the 

nations. 

27  Nothing    profane,    none    who    practises    abomination    or 

falsehood  shall  enter, 
but  those  alone  whose  names  are  written  in  the  Lamb's 
book  of  Life. 


oo  Then  he  showed  me  the  river  of  the  water  of  Life, 
^^  bright  as  crystal,  flowing  from  the  throne  of  God  and 

2  of  the  Lamb  through  the  streets  of  the  City;  on  both  sides 
of  the  river  grew  the  tree  of  Life,  bearing  twelve  kinds  of 
fruit,  each  month  having  its  own  fruit;  and  the  leaves 
served  to  heal  the  nations. 

3  None  who  is  accursed  will  be  there; 

but  the  throne  of  God  and  the  Lamb  will  be  within  it, 
his  servants  will  serve  and  worship  him, 

4  they  will  see  his  face, 

and  his  name  will  be  on  their  foreheads. 

5  Night  there  shall  be  none; 

they  need  no  lamp  or  sun  to  shine  upon  them, 
for  the  Lord  God  will  illumine  them; 
and  they  will  reign  for  ever  and  ever. 

6  And  the  angel  said  to  me,  "These  words  are  trustworthy 
and  genuine,  for  the  Lord  God  of  the  spirits  of  the  prophets 
has  sent  his  angel  to  show  his  servants  what  must  very 

7  soon  come  to  pass.     Lo,  I  am  coming  very  soon;   blessed 


REVELATION  XXII  395 

is  he  who  lays  to  heart  the  words  of  the  prophecy  of  this 
book!" 

8  I  John  saw  and  heard  all  this;  and  when  I  heard  and 
saw  it,  I  fell  down  to  worship  before  the  feet  of  the  angel 

9  who  had  shown  me  it  all.  But  he  said  to  me,  "No,  not  that! 
I  am  but  a  servant  like  yourself  and  your  brothers  the 
prophets,  who  lay  to  heart  the  words  of  this  book.    Worship 

10  God."  Then  he  said,  "Do  not  seal  up  the  words  of  the 
prophecy  of  this  dook,  for  the  time  is  near: 

11  Let  the  wicked  still  be  wicked, 
let  the  filthy  still  be  filthy, 

let  the  righteous  still  do  right, 
let  the  holy  still  be  holy! 

12  Lo,  I  am  coming  very  soon,  with  my  reward, 
to  requite  everyone  for  what  he  has  done. 

13  I  am  the  alpha  and  the  omega, 
the  First  and  the  Last, 

the  beginning  and  the  end. 

14  Blessed  are  those  who  wash  their  rohes*  that  theirs  may 
be  the  right  to  the  tree  of  Life,  the  right  to  enter  the  gates 

15  of  the  City!  Begone,  you  dogs,  you  sorcerers,  you  vicious 
men,  you  murderers,  you  idolaters,  you  who  love  and  prac- 
tise falsehood,  every  one  of  you!" 

16  "I  Jesus  have  sent  my  angel  to  give  you  this  testimony 
for  the  churches;  I  am  the  Scion  and  offspring  of  David, 
the  bright  star  of  the  Morning," 

17  "Come,"  say  the  Spirit  and  the  Bride: 

let  the  hearer  too  say,  "Come"; 
and   let  the  thirsty  come, 

let  anyone  who  desires  it,  take  the  water  of  Life  without 
price. 

18  I  adjure  all  who  hear  the  words  of  the  prophecy  of  this 
book: 

"If  anyone  adds  to  them. 

God  will  add  to  him  the  plagues  described  in  this  book; 

19  and  if  anyone  removes  any  words  written  in  this  book, 

God  will  remove  his  share  in  the  tree  of  Life  and  in  the 
holy  City  described  in  this  book." 

20  He  who  bears  this  testimony  says,  "Even  so:  I  am  com- 
ing very  soon."    Amen,  Lord  Jesus,  come! 

21  The  grace  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  be  with  you  all.f 
Amen. 

*  Reading  irXOvopres  ras  (rroXas  avrQv  with  K  A,  Primasius,  the  Vul- 
gate, etc. 

t  Reading  rrdvTuv  or  irdpruv  vfjiQy' 


Date  Due 


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